For 20 Years, Threads of Black American Music Have Converged Here
In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area
Honoring the Black Panther Party on Its 60th Anniversary
The John Henry Sound System Comes to the Berkeley Public Library
In Hunters Point, Black History Comes Alive in Malik Seneferu’s Paintings
Berkeley’s Stained Glass Garden to Celebrate 50 Years of Art
How Young Bari and BossLife Big Spence’s ‘That's a Playa’ Took Over the Bay
Colin Kaepernick Is Coming to the East Bay With a New Memoir
15 of the Best Outdoor Festivals in the Bay Area This Fall
A Massive New Oakland Mural Inspires Lasting Friendships and New Life Callings
A BAPE Block Party and the Changing Face of San Francisco’s Union Square
20 Years Later, Traxamillion’s ‘Slapp Addict’ Remains the Royal Hyphy Standard
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"content": "\n\u003cp>It’s Halloween season, when some people dress up like skeletons, ghosts or witches. But when picking her costume, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930747/liner-notes-dr-angela-wellman-and-music-of-the-highest-order\">Dr. Angela Wellman\u003c/a> isn’t like most people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I could be Angélique Kidjo,” says the founder and CEO of the \u003ca href=\"https://opcclasses.squarespace.com/\">Oakland Public Conservatory of Music\u003c/a> (OPC). “Or I could be Abbey Lincoln.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wellman’s music center in downtown \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> is gearing up for for a 20th anniversary gala on Oct. 24, with awards, multiple floors of entertainment, rooms in full decor and sounds from around the world. Attendees have been asked to dress up as their favorite musicians, and Wellman’s still deciding what to wear. (Tracking down an “\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=abbey+lincoln+hats&sca_esv=074237d04407bddc&udm=2&biw=1405&bih=717&sxsrf=APpeQnsdo3k2M5ubMKQz8MU8iZQaITZwng%3A1791916550740&ei=BnrOatjSLMqNm9cP3OaWyAM&ved=2ahUKEwjY7eSr0beXAxXKxuYEHVyzBTkQ4dUDegQIBhAN&uact=5&oq=abbey+lincoln+hats&gs_lp=Egtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZyISYWJiZXkgbGluY29sbiBoYXRzSLcEUABYAHABeACQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQCYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgBwCyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwCACAE&sclient=gws-wiz-img\">Abbey Lincoln hat\u003c/a>” could be the deciding factor).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She knows one thing, though: while fun, the costume invitation is also an extension of OPC’s ethos.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1706\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"13994406\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994406\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-scaled.jpeg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-160x240.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Angela Wellman, founder and CEO of the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. (Courtesy Angela Wellman)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"809\" height=\"794\" data-id=\"13930819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Angela Wellman looks directly into the camera as she plays her trombone.\" class=\"wp-image-13930819\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down.jpg 809w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down-800x785.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down-768x754.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Angela Wellman plays her trombone. (Via Dr. Angela Wellman)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really about lifting up the legacy of our music,” says Wellman, “particularly Black music that was created post-Atlantic slave trade.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dressing as an artist who influenced you, Wellman tells me, is an opportunity to reflect on how “the people that make the music really matter in our lives.” That includes those in the ancestral realm as well as “somebody who you’re rocking with right now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Giving proper respect to “the now” is a core tenet for the OPC, which offers workshops and classes for growing musicians. The organization regularly invites established artists passing through the Bay Area to perform at their facility and speak to the students. Those interactions provide the students with an “understanding of whose shoulders they’re standing on,” says Wellman.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Often these visits are interactive. Acclaimed trumpeter \u003ca href=\"https://www.etiennecharles.com/home\">Etienne Charles\u003c/a>’ visit started with a workshop in the main studio, and then spilled out into the street as the students joined Charles in a New Orleans-style parade, with everyone playing. “We did a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13830289/jubilation-fills-the-streets-on-new-orleans-second-line\">second line\u003c/a> down the street,” Wellman says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1632\" height=\"1224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994717\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee.jpg 1632w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1632px) 100vw, 1632px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Angela Wellman and Steve Turre, center, pose with students at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s 10th’s anniversary gala. (Courtesy OPC)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Past guests include jazz vocalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.melaniecharles.com/\">Melanie Charles\u003c/a>, Afro-Peruvian artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cotitomedrano/?hl=en\">Juan Medrano Cotito\u003c/a>, Golden State Warriors DJ and hip-hop producer \u003ca href=\"https://djdsharp.co/\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Special guests for the 20th anniversary include trombonist \u003ca href=\"http://steveturre.com\">Steve Turre\u003c/a>, a longtime member of the Saturday Night Live Band, and classical composer \u003ca href=\"https://marydwatkins.com/\">Mary Watkins\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Watkins, 87, is an unsung hero, Wellman attests. Watkins has composed three operas, four solo albums and scores for over 20 films and TV shows (including KQED’s \u003cem>Different Colors\u003c/em>). The former music director for San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Watkins’ work has been presented locally at the Oakland Opera Theater, and nationally at venues like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institute.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She’s a prolific composer and pianist,” Wellman says of Watkins, “so we’re giving her a lifetime achievement award.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Steve Turre will also be honored at OPC’s event.\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7FYSVmrzOY\"> A sacred seashell instrumentalist\u003c/a> in addition to being a renowned trombonist, Turre will perform alongside some star alums of OPC, including trombonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jasimperales/?hl=en\">Jasim Perales\u003c/a>, bassist \u003ca href=\"https://www.aminascott.com/\">Amina Scott\u003c/a> and drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ayindewebb/\">Ayinde Webb\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now they’re out there in the world,” Wellman says of the graduates, “doing what we supply the space to train young people to do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The anniversary event will also be a chance to ruminate on the larger context of Black music in this country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I think about the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music,” says Wellman, “I think of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/04/nx-s1-5779591/how-enslaved-traditions-in-new-orleans-congo-square-shaped-american-music-global-sound\">Congo Square\u003c/a>.” The site in New Orleans where the music that most people call “jazz” originated was a place for people of the African diaspora to commune, enjoy music and tap into the spirit, says Wellman. “As each group practiced, there was this cacophony of rich sounds and polyrhythms.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Expect OPC’s 20th anniversary event to tap into that same spirit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s 20th Anniversary and Gala takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Oakland Science Academy (1515 Webster St., Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/c/opc20th\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Past guests include jazz vocalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.melaniecharles.com/\">Melanie Charles\u003c/a>, Afro-Peruvian artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cotitomedrano/?hl=en\">Juan Medrano Cotito\u003c/a>, Golden State Warriors DJ and hip-hop producer \u003ca href=\"https://djdsharp.co/\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Special guests for the 20th anniversary include trombonist \u003ca href=\"http://steveturre.com\">Steve Turre\u003c/a>, a longtime member of the Saturday Night Live Band, and classical composer \u003ca href=\"https://marydwatkins.com/\">Mary Watkins\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Watkins, 87, is an unsung hero, Wellman attests. Watkins has composed three operas, four solo albums and scores for over 20 films and TV shows (including KQED’s \u003cem>Different Colors\u003c/em>). The former music director for San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Watkins’ work has been presented locally at the Oakland Opera Theater, and nationally at venues like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institute.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Watkins, 87, is an unsung hero, Wellman attests. Watkins has composed three operas, four solo albums and scores for over 20 films and TV shows (including KQED’s \u003cem>Different Colors\u003c/em>). The former music director for San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Watkins’ work has been presented locally at the Oakland Opera Theater, and nationally at venues like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institute.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“She’s a prolific composer and pianist,” Wellman says of Watkins, “so we’re giving her a lifetime achievement award.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Steve Turre will also be honored at OPC’s event.\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7FYSVmrzOY\"> A sacred seashell instrumentalist\u003c/a> in addition to being a renowned trombonist, Turre will perform alongside some star alums of OPC, including trombonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jasimperales/?hl=en\">Jasim Perales\u003c/a>, bassist \u003ca href=\"https://www.aminascott.com/\">Amina Scott\u003c/a> and drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ayindewebb/\">Ayinde Webb\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Now they’re out there in the world,” Wellman says of the graduates, “doing what we supply the space to train young people to do.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The anniversary event will also be a chance to ruminate on the larger context of Black music in this country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I think about the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music,” says Wellman, “I think of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/04/nx-s1-5779591/how-enslaved-traditions-in-new-orleans-congo-square-shaped-american-music-global-sound\">Congo Square\u003c/a>.” The site in New Orleans where the music that most people call “jazz” originated was a place for people of the African diaspora to commune, enjoy music and tap into the spirit, says Wellman. “As each group practiced, there was this cacophony of rich sounds and polyrhythms.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Expect OPC’s 20th anniversary event to tap into that same spirit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s 20th Anniversary and Gala takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Oakland Science Academy (1515 Webster St., Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/c/opc20th\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>It’s Halloween season, when some people dress up like skeletons, ghosts or witches. But when picking her costume, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930747/liner-notes-dr-angela-wellman-and-music-of-the-highest-order\">Dr. Angela Wellman\u003c/a> isn’t like most people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I could be Angélique Kidjo,” says the founder and CEO of the \u003ca href=\"https://opcclasses.squarespace.com/\">Oakland Public Conservatory of Music\u003c/a> (OPC). “Or I could be Abbey Lincoln.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wellman’s music center in downtown \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> is gearing up for for a 20th anniversary gala on Oct. 24, with awards, multiple floors of entertainment, rooms in full decor and sounds from around the world. Attendees have been asked to dress up as their favorite musicians, and Wellman’s still deciding what to wear. (Tracking down an “\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=abbey+lincoln+hats&sca_esv=074237d04407bddc&udm=2&biw=1405&bih=717&sxsrf=APpeQnsdo3k2M5ubMKQz8MU8iZQaITZwng%3A1791916550740&ei=BnrOatjSLMqNm9cP3OaWyAM&ved=2ahUKEwjY7eSr0beXAxXKxuYEHVyzBTkQ4dUDegQIBhAN&uact=5&oq=abbey+lincoln+hats&gs_lp=Egtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZyISYWJiZXkgbGluY29sbiBoYXRzSLcEUABYAHABeACQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQCYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgBwCyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwCACAE&sclient=gws-wiz-img\">Abbey Lincoln hat\u003c/a>” could be the deciding factor).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She knows one thing, though: while fun, the costume invitation is also an extension of OPC’s ethos.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1706\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"13994406\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994406\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-scaled.jpeg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-160x240.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Dr.-Angela-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Angela Wellman, founder and CEO of the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. (Courtesy Angela Wellman)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"809\" height=\"794\" data-id=\"13930819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Angela Wellman looks directly into the camera as she plays her trombone.\" class=\"wp-image-13930819\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down.jpg 809w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down-800x785.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AMW-bone-down-768x754.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Angela Wellman plays her trombone. (Via Dr. Angela Wellman)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really about lifting up the legacy of our music,” says Wellman, “particularly Black music that was created post-Atlantic slave trade.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dressing as an artist who influenced you, Wellman tells me, is an opportunity to reflect on how “the people that make the music really matter in our lives.” That includes those in the ancestral realm as well as “somebody who you’re rocking with right now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Giving proper respect to “the now” is a core tenet for the OPC, which offers workshops and classes for growing musicians. The organization regularly invites established artists passing through the Bay Area to perform at their facility and speak to the students. Those interactions provide the students with an “understanding of whose shoulders they’re standing on,” says Wellman.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Often these visits are interactive. Acclaimed trumpeter \u003ca href=\"https://www.etiennecharles.com/home\">Etienne Charles\u003c/a>’ visit started with a workshop in the main studio, and then spilled out into the street as the students joined Charles in a New Orleans-style parade, with everyone playing. “We did a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13830289/jubilation-fills-the-streets-on-new-orleans-second-line\">second line\u003c/a> down the street,” Wellman says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1632\" height=\"1224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994717\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee.jpg 1632w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Turre.Wellman-244716ee-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1632px) 100vw, 1632px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Angela Wellman and Steve Turre, center, pose with students at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s 10th’s anniversary gala. (Courtesy OPC)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Past guests include jazz vocalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.melaniecharles.com/\">Melanie Charles\u003c/a>, Afro-Peruvian artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cotitomedrano/?hl=en\">Juan Medrano Cotito\u003c/a>, Golden State Warriors DJ and hip-hop producer \u003ca href=\"https://djdsharp.co/\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Special guests for the 20th anniversary include trombonist \u003ca href=\"http://steveturre.com\">Steve Turre\u003c/a>, a longtime member of the Saturday Night Live Band, and classical composer \u003ca href=\"https://marydwatkins.com/\">Mary Watkins\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Watkins, 87, is an unsung hero, Wellman attests. Watkins has composed three operas, four solo albums and scores for over 20 films and TV shows (including KQED’s \u003cem>Different Colors\u003c/em>). The former music director for San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Watkins’ work has been presented locally at the Oakland Opera Theater, and nationally at venues like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institute.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She’s a prolific composer and pianist,” Wellman says of Watkins, “so we’re giving her a lifetime achievement award.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Steve Turre will also be honored at OPC’s event.\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7FYSVmrzOY\"> A sacred seashell instrumentalist\u003c/a> in addition to being a renowned trombonist, Turre will perform alongside some star alums of OPC, including trombonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jasimperales/?hl=en\">Jasim Perales\u003c/a>, bassist \u003ca href=\"https://www.aminascott.com/\">Amina Scott\u003c/a> and drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ayindewebb/\">Ayinde Webb\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now they’re out there in the world,” Wellman says of the graduates, “doing what we supply the space to train young people to do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The anniversary event will also be a chance to ruminate on the larger context of Black music in this country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I think about the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music,” says Wellman, “I think of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/04/nx-s1-5779591/how-enslaved-traditions-in-new-orleans-congo-square-shaped-american-music-global-sound\">Congo Square\u003c/a>.” The site in New Orleans where the music that most people call “jazz” originated was a place for people of the African diaspora to commune, enjoy music and tap into the spirit, says Wellman. “As each group practiced, there was this cacophony of rich sounds and polyrhythms.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Expect OPC’s 20th anniversary event to tap into that same spirit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s 20th Anniversary and Gala takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Oakland Science Academy (1515 Webster St., Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/c/opc20th\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "lil-jon-new-book-memoir-too-short-e-40-bay-area",
"title": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area",
"publishDate": 1791571250,
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"headTitle": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016. (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1325\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1325px) 100vw, 1325px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’ (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"2113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2113px) 100vw, 2113px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Atlanta rapper, producer and collaborator with Too Short and E-40 has a new memoir, ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’",
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"title": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016. (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1325\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1325px) 100vw, 1325px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’ (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"2113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2113px) 100vw, 2113px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/rz6MrrVqUZE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rz6MrrVqUZE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "hblack-panther-party-60th-anniversary-events-oakland",
"title": "Honoring the Black Panther Party on Its 60th Anniversary",
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"headTitle": "Honoring the Black Panther Party on Its 60th Anniversary | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Six decades ago, a group of young Black activists in Oakland began policing the police. They fed schoolchildren, started medical clinics, created a multilevel grade school and published a newspaper that reached people around the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In leather jackets and berets, they reinvented the color black. And, through their collective willpower, they fanned the flame of self-determination that has long burned within the Black community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Black Panther Party, founded in 1966, was one of the most important organizations of the 20th century. This month, as \u003ca href=\"https://hueypnewtonfoundation.org/\">The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/index_PhotoGallery.html\">It’s About Time BPP \u003c/a>commemorate the vanguard organization’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">60th anniversary\u003c/a>, the Black Panthers will be honored with a gala, numerous workshops, a community day in West Oakland and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994540\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-1536x1031.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Black Panthers march in protest of the trial of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California. (Bettmann/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re opening it up with an exhibition by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13867337/the-black-panther-partys-free-breakfast-program-a-50-year-old-blueprint\">Billy X Jennings\u003c/a>,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971589/black-panther-party-survival-programs-exhibit\">Dr. Xavier Buck\u003c/a>, executive director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. On Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Oakland Public Library’s main branch, Jennings, a Black Panther Party historian, leads attendees through an exhibition titled \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/6a8732ffbe1482002988c2a4\">Honoring the Rank & File\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. He’ll also lead a panel discussion and screening of the documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JAcG-QHO8\">Lords of the Revolution\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And then,” says Buck, “we’re partnering with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownthursdays/\">Oaktown Thursdays\u003c/a>, and doing a special 60th anniversary tribute; \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/larussell\">LaRussell\u003c/a> is the headliner for that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the following day, Friday, Oct. 16, brings a variety of workshops, many led by former Panthers or their children, known as Panther cubs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.csustan.edu/people/ms-melissa-charles\">Mel Charles \u003c/a>from Sacramento’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.malcolmxacademy.org/\">Malcolm X Academy\u003c/a> leads a discussion about applying the Panthers’ concept of a Community School to 2026. A critical look at reproductive health comes courtesy of \u003ca href=\"https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/malic.cfm\">Dr. Mali Collins\u003c/a>, who anchors a session titled “The Black Panther’s Agenda for Black Health: A framework for reproductive freedom in 2026.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A day full of conversations that bring the Party’s ideas into the present will conclude with a set by East Bay hip-hop ensemble \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macarthurmaze/\">MacArthur Maze\u003c/a> at the Oakland Museum of California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JAcG-QHO8\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The next day, Oct. 17, offers an even broader variety of sessions. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/breathandthecity/\">Breath and the City\u003c/a>‘s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lissdelarosa/\">Lissette de la Rosa\u003c/a> leads a seminar on breath work, pushing attendees to dive deep within themselves. Former Black Panther \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/offical_mamacharlottesmusic2/?hl=en\">Charlotte Hill O’Neal\u003c/a>, visiting from Tanzania, will lead a discussion about the Party’s international footprint. Saturday’s schedule also includes a discussion about the relationship between Black liberation and ecology, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/quinton-sankofa\">Quinton Sankofa\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, actor \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Guenveur_Smith\">Roger Guenveur Smith\u003c/a>, who played Huey P. Newton in Spike Lee’s 2001 production \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278490/\">A Huey P. Newton Story\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary in a screening; Smith will be joined by Steven Adams, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13874735/fredrika-newton-huey-p-revolutionary-love\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://awelemakeba.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae8oIBsrcNdxz-eh4a2xn-9zGpDNagrSqX8gN94avGGmMfZQLQJp5FvgjJhMA_aem_oC-lUDOxG0Cl0u-3VefMWg#top\">Awele Makeba\u003c/a>. Also screening at the event is \u003ca href=\"https://www.d-word.com/documentary/2334-ALIVE-IN-BRONZE-HUEY-P-NEWTON\">\u003cem>Alive in Bronze\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a short documentary about the efforts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fredrikanewton/\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a> and sculptor \u003ca href=\"https://danakingart.com/\">Dana King\u003c/a> to create a monument that now stands on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland, honoring the life of Dr. Huey P. Newton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QstJpRpp6FY\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Saturday evening, Oct. 17, is the main event: the 60th anniversary gala. “It’s going to be a pretty big deal,” says Buck, explaining that Bobby Seale will be present while the cover art for a new edition of his book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-1or1\">Seize the Time\u003c/a>\u003c/em> is unveiled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Buck, the founding director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.blackpantherpartymuseum.org/\">Black Panther Party Museum\u003c/a>, says the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation worked with the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation on the slate of events. “It’s the first time that these legacies have worked together. And it’s important because one of Bobby Seale’s greatest regrets was not making amends with Huey before he was killed in ’89.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That sort of cooperation is at the center of the entire series, and it serves as a metaphor. “It’s all about looking at this current political moment,” Buck says, “and thinking more about unification than division.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1584\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg\" alt=\"At right, a white middle-aged man in a suit and tie looks into the distance; at left, more than a dozen Black men in leather jackets and berets stand in two single-file lines next to an A-frame building\" class=\"wp-image-13994541\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-160x127.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-768x608.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-1536x1217.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Actor Marlon Brando, right, attends the funeral of 17-year-old Black Panther Party treasurer Bobby Hutton at the Ephesian Church of God and Christ in Berkeley, Calif. on April 12, 1968. He is flanked at left by members of the Black Panther Party outside the church where an estimated 1,500 people were in attendance. (Lonnie Wilson/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the theme of coming together, Sunday, Oct. 18, offers a free Community Day event at Bobby Hutton Park in West Oakland, bringing the community back to the same grounds where the Panthers held rallies six decades ago. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/moneyb69/\">Money B,\u003c/a> founding member of the legendary Digital Underground hip-hop collective and former student at the Black Panther’s Oakland Community School will guest host. He’ll be joined by performances from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/numskulloftheluniz/\">Numskull of the Luniz\u003c/a>, The Bobby Jackson Project and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfhawkjaguar/\">WolfHawkJuguar\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A number of other events in October commemorate the Black Panther’s legacy, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd9NJfUygqv/\">a Panther Jam at the Shakur Center\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Friday, Oct. 9. On Sunday, Oct. 11, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/seize-the-time?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae9RvTirno6ZWKYCwGiORB1t6eAvahHR5Ye0Ma-KJ6soVprYcltqaPReN1PYQ_aem_eWRKBEBtUM8wn-x9L5jLGw\">Seize The Time: A Fashion Experience\u003c/a>, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.futurisme.studio/\">Futurisme Studios\u003c/a> and featuring DJ sets by \u003ca href=\"https://www.homeisforhomies.com/\">Home is for Homies\u003c/a>. And on Saturday, Oct. 17, Pittsburg’s \u003ca href=\"https://bookstore.revisionpub.com/\">RP Books\u003c/a> hosts a conversation with \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvr.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAacRTQt7YCt-KS4SjkgIq5j65jdF8JEWHH5kk81AfIX31l23mQNt9EKmG0Jzlw_aem_Vzx8TXxIJDuHJUjY6NXIfA\">Michael Roosevelt\u003c/a>, author of \u003cem>The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Plan: A Liberatory Journal\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than a half-century ago, when the late \u003ca href=\"https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-panther-party-ten-point-program-1966/\">Dr. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale charted 10 specific needs\u003c/a> of working-class African American people in this country, they couldn’t have fathomed that many of those demands — namely “Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings” and “Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society” — would remain unfulfilled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nor could they have imagined how deeply the work of the Black Panther Party has inspired generations, pushing young people to create change both locally and internationally.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And clearly, the work continues.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Black Panther Party celebrates its 60th anniversary this month with a series of events. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Six decades ago, a group of young Black activists in Oakland began policing the police. They fed schoolchildren, started medical clinics, created a multilevel grade school and published a newspaper that reached people around the world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In leather jackets and berets, they reinvented the color black. And, through their collective willpower, they fanned the flame of self-determination that has long burned within the Black community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Black Panther Party, founded in 1966, was one of the most important organizations of the 20th century. This month, as \u003ca href=\"https://hueypnewtonfoundation.org/\">The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/index_PhotoGallery.html\">It’s About Time BPP \u003c/a>commemorate the vanguard organization’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">60th anniversary\u003c/a>, the Black Panthers will be honored with a gala, numerous workshops, a community day in West Oakland and more.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Black Panther Party, founded in 1966, was one of the most important organizations of the 20th century. This month, as \u003ca href=\"https://hueypnewtonfoundation.org/\">The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/index_PhotoGallery.html\">It’s About Time BPP \u003c/a>commemorate the vanguard organization’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">60th anniversary\u003c/a>, the Black Panthers will be honored with a gala, numerous workshops, a community day in West Oakland and more.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994540\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-1536x1031.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Black Panthers march in protest of the trial of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Bettmann/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994540\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Black Panthers march in protest of the trial of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Bettmann/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re opening it up with an exhibition by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13867337/the-black-panther-partys-free-breakfast-program-a-50-year-old-blueprint\">Billy X Jennings\u003c/a>,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971589/black-panther-party-survival-programs-exhibit\">Dr. Xavier Buck\u003c/a>, executive director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. On Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Oakland Public Library’s main branch, Jennings, a Black Panther Party historian, leads attendees through an exhibition titled \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/6a8732ffbe1482002988c2a4\">Honoring the Rank & File\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. He’ll also lead a panel discussion and screening of the documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JAcG-QHO8\">Lords of the Revolution\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re opening it up with an exhibition by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13867337/the-black-panther-partys-free-breakfast-program-a-50-year-old-blueprint\">Billy X Jennings\u003c/a>,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971589/black-panther-party-survival-programs-exhibit\">Dr. Xavier Buck\u003c/a>, executive director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. On Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Oakland Public Library’s main branch, Jennings, a Black Panther Party historian, leads attendees through an exhibition titled \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/6a8732ffbe1482002988c2a4\">Honoring the Rank & File\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. He’ll also lead a panel discussion and screening of the documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JAcG-QHO8\">Lords of the Revolution\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And then,” says Buck, “we’re partnering with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownthursdays/\">Oaktown Thursdays\u003c/a>, and doing a special 60th anniversary tribute; \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/larussell\">LaRussell\u003c/a> is the headliner for that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And then,” says Buck, “we’re partnering with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownthursdays/\">Oaktown Thursdays\u003c/a>, and doing a special 60th anniversary tribute; \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/larussell\">LaRussell\u003c/a> is the headliner for that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the following day, Friday, Oct. 16, brings a variety of workshops, many led by former Panthers or their children, known as Panther cubs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.csustan.edu/people/ms-melissa-charles\">Mel Charles \u003c/a>from Sacramento’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.malcolmxacademy.org/\">Malcolm X Academy\u003c/a> leads a discussion about applying the Panthers’ concept of a Community School to 2026. A critical look at reproductive health comes courtesy of \u003ca href=\"https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/malic.cfm\">Dr. Mali Collins\u003c/a>, who anchors a session titled “The Black Panther’s Agenda for Black Health: A framework for reproductive freedom in 2026.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the following day, Friday, Oct. 16, brings a variety of workshops, many led by former Panthers or their children, known as Panther cubs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.csustan.edu/people/ms-melissa-charles\">Mel Charles \u003c/a>from Sacramento’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.malcolmxacademy.org/\">Malcolm X Academy\u003c/a> leads a discussion about applying the Panthers’ concept of a Community School to 2026. A critical look at reproductive health comes courtesy of \u003ca href=\"https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/malic.cfm\">Dr. Mali Collins\u003c/a>, who anchors a session titled “The Black Panther’s Agenda for Black Health: A framework for reproductive freedom in 2026.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A day full of conversations that bring the Party’s ideas into the present will conclude with a set by East Bay hip-hop ensemble \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macarthurmaze/\">MacArthur Maze\u003c/a> at the Oakland Museum of California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A day full of conversations that bring the Party’s ideas into the present will conclude with a set by East Bay hip-hop ensemble \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macarthurmaze/\">MacArthur Maze\u003c/a> at the Oakland Museum of California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JAcG-QHO8\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The next day, Oct. 17, offers an even broader variety of sessions. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/breathandthecity/\">Breath and the City\u003c/a>‘s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lissdelarosa/\">Lissette de la Rosa\u003c/a> leads a seminar on breath work, pushing attendees to dive deep within themselves. Former Black Panther \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/offical_mamacharlottesmusic2/?hl=en\">Charlotte Hill O’Neal\u003c/a>, visiting from Tanzania, will lead a discussion about the Party’s international footprint. Saturday’s schedule also includes a discussion about the relationship between Black liberation and ecology, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/quinton-sankofa\">Quinton Sankofa\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The next day, Oct. 17, offers an even broader variety of sessions. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/breathandthecity/\">Breath and the City\u003c/a>‘s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lissdelarosa/\">Lissette de la Rosa\u003c/a> leads a seminar on breath work, pushing attendees to dive deep within themselves. Former Black Panther \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/offical_mamacharlottesmusic2/?hl=en\">Charlotte Hill O’Neal\u003c/a>, visiting from Tanzania, will lead a discussion about the Party’s international footprint. Saturday’s schedule also includes a discussion about the relationship between Black liberation and ecology, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/quinton-sankofa\">Quinton Sankofa\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, actor \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Guenveur_Smith\">Roger Guenveur Smith\u003c/a>, who played Huey P. Newton in Spike Lee’s 2001 production \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278490/\">A Huey P. Newton Story\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary in a screening; Smith will be joined by Steven Adams, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13874735/fredrika-newton-huey-p-revolutionary-love\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://awelemakeba.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae8oIBsrcNdxz-eh4a2xn-9zGpDNagrSqX8gN94avGGmMfZQLQJp5FvgjJhMA_aem_oC-lUDOxG0Cl0u-3VefMWg#top\">Awele Makeba\u003c/a>. Also screening at the event is \u003ca href=\"https://www.d-word.com/documentary/2334-ALIVE-IN-BRONZE-HUEY-P-NEWTON\">\u003cem>Alive in Bronze\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a short documentary about the efforts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fredrikanewton/\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a> and sculptor \u003ca href=\"https://danakingart.com/\">Dana King\u003c/a> to create a monument that now stands on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland, honoring the life of Dr. Huey P. Newton.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, actor \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Guenveur_Smith\">Roger Guenveur Smith\u003c/a>, who played Huey P. Newton in Spike Lee’s 2001 production \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278490/\">A Huey P. Newton Story\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary in a screening; Smith will be joined by Steven Adams, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13874735/fredrika-newton-huey-p-revolutionary-love\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://awelemakeba.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae8oIBsrcNdxz-eh4a2xn-9zGpDNagrSqX8gN94avGGmMfZQLQJp5FvgjJhMA_aem_oC-lUDOxG0Cl0u-3VefMWg#top\">Awele Makeba\u003c/a>. Also screening at the event is \u003ca href=\"https://www.d-word.com/documentary/2334-ALIVE-IN-BRONZE-HUEY-P-NEWTON\">\u003cem>Alive in Bronze\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a short documentary about the efforts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fredrikanewton/\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a> and sculptor \u003ca href=\"https://danakingart.com/\">Dana King\u003c/a> to create a monument that now stands on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland, honoring the life of Dr. Huey P. Newton.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Saturday evening, Oct. 17, is the main event: the 60th anniversary gala. “It’s going to be a pretty big deal,” says Buck, explaining that Bobby Seale will be present while the cover art for a new edition of his book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-1or1\">Seize the Time\u003c/a>\u003c/em> is unveiled.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Saturday evening, Oct. 17, is the main event: the 60th anniversary gala. “It’s going to be a pretty big deal,” says Buck, explaining that Bobby Seale will be present while the cover art for a new edition of his book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-1or1\">Seize the Time\u003c/a>\u003c/em> is unveiled.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Buck, the founding director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.blackpantherpartymuseum.org/\">Black Panther Party Museum\u003c/a>, says the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation worked with the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation on the slate of events. “It’s the first time that these legacies have worked together. And it’s important because one of Bobby Seale’s greatest regrets was not making amends with Huey before he was killed in ’89.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Buck, the founding director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.blackpantherpartymuseum.org/\">Black Panther Party Museum\u003c/a>, says the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation worked with the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation on the slate of events. “It’s the first time that these legacies have worked together. And it’s important because one of Bobby Seale’s greatest regrets was not making amends with Huey before he was killed in ’89.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That sort of cooperation is at the center of the entire series, and it serves as a metaphor. “It’s all about looking at this current political moment,” Buck says, “and thinking more about unification than division.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That sort of cooperation is at the center of the entire series, and it serves as a metaphor. “It’s all about looking at this current political moment,” Buck says, “and thinking more about unification than division.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg\" alt=\"At right, a white middle-aged man in a suit and tie looks into the distance; at left, more than a dozen Black men in leather jackets and berets stand in two single-file lines next to an A-frame building\" class=\"wp-image-13994541\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-160x127.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-768x608.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-1536x1217.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Actor Marlon Brando, right, attends the funeral of 17-year-old Black Panther Party treasurer Bobby Hutton at the Ephesian Church of God and Christ in Berkeley, Calif. on April 12, 1968. He is flanked at left by members of the Black Panther Party outside the church where an estimated 1,500 people were in attendance. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lonnie Wilson/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg\" alt=\"At right, a white middle-aged man in a suit and tie looks into the distance; at left, more than a dozen Black men in leather jackets and berets stand in two single-file lines next to an A-frame building\" class=\"wp-image-13994541\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Actor Marlon Brando, right, attends the funeral of 17-year-old Black Panther Party treasurer Bobby Hutton at the Ephesian Church of God and Christ in Berkeley, Calif. on April 12, 1968. He is flanked at left by members of the Black Panther Party outside the church where an estimated 1,500 people were in attendance. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lonnie Wilson/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the theme of coming together, Sunday, Oct. 18, offers a free Community Day event at Bobby Hutton Park in West Oakland, bringing the community back to the same grounds where the Panthers held rallies six decades ago. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/moneyb69/\">Money B,\u003c/a> founding member of the legendary Digital Underground hip-hop collective and former student at the Black Panther’s Oakland Community School will guest host. He’ll be joined by performances from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/numskulloftheluniz/\">Numskull of the Luniz\u003c/a>, The Bobby Jackson Project and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfhawkjaguar/\">WolfHawkJuguar\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the theme of coming together, Sunday, Oct. 18, offers a free Community Day event at Bobby Hutton Park in West Oakland, bringing the community back to the same grounds where the Panthers held rallies six decades ago. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/moneyb69/\">Money B,\u003c/a> founding member of the legendary Digital Underground hip-hop collective and former student at the Black Panther’s Oakland Community School will guest host. He’ll be joined by performances from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/numskulloftheluniz/\">Numskull of the Luniz\u003c/a>, The Bobby Jackson Project and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfhawkjaguar/\">WolfHawkJuguar\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A number of other events in October commemorate the Black Panther’s legacy, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd9NJfUygqv/\">a Panther Jam at the Shakur Center\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Friday, Oct. 9. On Sunday, Oct. 11, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/seize-the-time?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae9RvTirno6ZWKYCwGiORB1t6eAvahHR5Ye0Ma-KJ6soVprYcltqaPReN1PYQ_aem_eWRKBEBtUM8wn-x9L5jLGw\">Seize The Time: A Fashion Experience\u003c/a>, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.futurisme.studio/\">Futurisme Studios\u003c/a> and featuring DJ sets by \u003ca href=\"https://www.homeisforhomies.com/\">Home is for Homies\u003c/a>. And on Saturday, Oct. 17, Pittsburg’s \u003ca href=\"https://bookstore.revisionpub.com/\">RP Books\u003c/a> hosts a conversation with \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvr.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAacRTQt7YCt-KS4SjkgIq5j65jdF8JEWHH5kk81AfIX31l23mQNt9EKmG0Jzlw_aem_Vzx8TXxIJDuHJUjY6NXIfA\">Michael Roosevelt\u003c/a>, author of \u003cem>The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Plan: A Liberatory Journal\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A number of other events in October commemorate the Black Panther’s legacy, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd9NJfUygqv/\">a Panther Jam at the Shakur Center\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Friday, Oct. 9. On Sunday, Oct. 11, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/seize-the-time?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae9RvTirno6ZWKYCwGiORB1t6eAvahHR5Ye0Ma-KJ6soVprYcltqaPReN1PYQ_aem_eWRKBEBtUM8wn-x9L5jLGw\">Seize The Time: A Fashion Experience\u003c/a>, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.futurisme.studio/\">Futurisme Studios\u003c/a> and featuring DJ sets by \u003ca href=\"https://www.homeisforhomies.com/\">Home is for Homies\u003c/a>. And on Saturday, Oct. 17, Pittsburg’s \u003ca href=\"https://bookstore.revisionpub.com/\">RP Books\u003c/a> hosts a conversation with \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvr.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAacRTQt7YCt-KS4SjkgIq5j65jdF8JEWHH5kk81AfIX31l23mQNt9EKmG0Jzlw_aem_Vzx8TXxIJDuHJUjY6NXIfA\">Michael Roosevelt\u003c/a>, author of \u003cem>The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Plan: A Liberatory Journal\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More than a half-century ago, when the late \u003ca href=\"https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-panther-party-ten-point-program-1966/\">Dr. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale charted 10 specific needs\u003c/a> of working-class African American people in this country, they couldn’t have fathomed that many of those demands — namely “Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings” and “Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society” — would remain unfulfilled.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>More than a half-century ago, when the late \u003ca href=\"https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-panther-party-ten-point-program-1966/\">Dr. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale charted 10 specific needs\u003c/a> of working-class African American people in this country, they couldn’t have fathomed that many of those demands — namely “Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings” and “Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society” — would remain unfulfilled.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nor could they have imagined how deeply the work of the Black Panther Party has inspired generations, pushing young people to create change both locally and internationally.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Nor could they have imagined how deeply the work of the Black Panther Party has inspired generations, pushing young people to create change both locally and internationally.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Black Panther Party celebrates its 60th anniversary this month with a series of events. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Black Panther Party celebrates its 60th anniversary this month with a series of events. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Events throughout October commemorate one of the most important organizations of the 20th century.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Six decades ago, a group of young Black activists in Oakland began policing the police. They fed schoolchildren, started medical clinics, created a multilevel grade school and published a newspaper that reached people around the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In leather jackets and berets, they reinvented the color black. And, through their collective willpower, they fanned the flame of self-determination that has long burned within the Black community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Black Panther Party, founded in 1966, was one of the most important organizations of the 20th century. This month, as \u003ca href=\"https://hueypnewtonfoundation.org/\">The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/index_PhotoGallery.html\">It’s About Time BPP \u003c/a>commemorate the vanguard organization’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">60th anniversary\u003c/a>, the Black Panthers will be honored with a gala, numerous workshops, a community day in West Oakland and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994540\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-514079888-1536x1031.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Black Panthers march in protest of the trial of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California. (Bettmann/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re opening it up with an exhibition by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13867337/the-black-panther-partys-free-breakfast-program-a-50-year-old-blueprint\">Billy X Jennings\u003c/a>,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971589/black-panther-party-survival-programs-exhibit\">Dr. Xavier Buck\u003c/a>, executive director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. On Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Oakland Public Library’s main branch, Jennings, a Black Panther Party historian, leads attendees through an exhibition titled \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/6a8732ffbe1482002988c2a4\">Honoring the Rank & File\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. He’ll also lead a panel discussion and screening of the documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JAcG-QHO8\">Lords of the Revolution\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And then,” says Buck, “we’re partnering with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownthursdays/\">Oaktown Thursdays\u003c/a>, and doing a special 60th anniversary tribute; \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/larussell\">LaRussell\u003c/a> is the headliner for that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the following day, Friday, Oct. 16, brings a variety of workshops, many led by former Panthers or their children, known as Panther cubs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.csustan.edu/people/ms-melissa-charles\">Mel Charles \u003c/a>from Sacramento’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.malcolmxacademy.org/\">Malcolm X Academy\u003c/a> leads a discussion about applying the Panthers’ concept of a Community School to 2026. A critical look at reproductive health comes courtesy of \u003ca href=\"https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/malic.cfm\">Dr. Mali Collins\u003c/a>, who anchors a session titled “The Black Panther’s Agenda for Black Health: A framework for reproductive freedom in 2026.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A day full of conversations that bring the Party’s ideas into the present will conclude with a set by East Bay hip-hop ensemble \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macarthurmaze/\">MacArthur Maze\u003c/a> at the Oakland Museum of California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/D4JAcG-QHO8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/D4JAcG-QHO8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The next day, Oct. 17, offers an even broader variety of sessions. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/breathandthecity/\">Breath and the City\u003c/a>‘s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lissdelarosa/\">Lissette de la Rosa\u003c/a> leads a seminar on breath work, pushing attendees to dive deep within themselves. Former Black Panther \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/offical_mamacharlottesmusic2/?hl=en\">Charlotte Hill O’Neal\u003c/a>, visiting from Tanzania, will lead a discussion about the Party’s international footprint. Saturday’s schedule also includes a discussion about the relationship between Black liberation and ecology, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/quinton-sankofa\">Quinton Sankofa\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, actor \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Guenveur_Smith\">Roger Guenveur Smith\u003c/a>, who played Huey P. Newton in Spike Lee’s 2001 production \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278490/\">A Huey P. Newton Story\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary in a screening; Smith will be joined by Steven Adams, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13874735/fredrika-newton-huey-p-revolutionary-love\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://awelemakeba.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae8oIBsrcNdxz-eh4a2xn-9zGpDNagrSqX8gN94avGGmMfZQLQJp5FvgjJhMA_aem_oC-lUDOxG0Cl0u-3VefMWg#top\">Awele Makeba\u003c/a>. Also screening at the event is \u003ca href=\"https://www.d-word.com/documentary/2334-ALIVE-IN-BRONZE-HUEY-P-NEWTON\">\u003cem>Alive in Bronze\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a short documentary about the efforts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fredrikanewton/\">Fredrika Newton\u003c/a> and sculptor \u003ca href=\"https://danakingart.com/\">Dana King\u003c/a> to create a monument that now stands on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland, honoring the life of Dr. Huey P. Newton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/QstJpRpp6FY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/QstJpRpp6FY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Saturday evening, Oct. 17, is the main event: the 60th anniversary gala. “It’s going to be a pretty big deal,” says Buck, explaining that Bobby Seale will be present while the cover art for a new edition of his book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-1or1\">Seize the Time\u003c/a>\u003c/em> is unveiled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Buck, the founding director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.blackpantherpartymuseum.org/\">Black Panther Party Museum\u003c/a>, says the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation worked with the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation on the slate of events. “It’s the first time that these legacies have worked together. And it’s important because one of Bobby Seale’s greatest regrets was not making amends with Huey before he was killed in ’89.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That sort of cooperation is at the center of the entire series, and it serves as a metaphor. “It’s all about looking at this current political moment,” Buck says, “and thinking more about unification than division.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1584\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg\" alt=\"At right, a white middle-aged man in a suit and tie looks into the distance; at left, more than a dozen Black men in leather jackets and berets stand in two single-file lines next to an A-frame building\" class=\"wp-image-13994541\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-160x127.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-768x608.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-1438231171-1536x1217.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Actor Marlon Brando, right, attends the funeral of 17-year-old Black Panther Party treasurer Bobby Hutton at the Ephesian Church of God and Christ in Berkeley, Calif. on April 12, 1968. He is flanked at left by members of the Black Panther Party outside the church where an estimated 1,500 people were in attendance. (Lonnie Wilson/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the theme of coming together, Sunday, Oct. 18, offers a free Community Day event at Bobby Hutton Park in West Oakland, bringing the community back to the same grounds where the Panthers held rallies six decades ago. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/moneyb69/\">Money B,\u003c/a> founding member of the legendary Digital Underground hip-hop collective and former student at the Black Panther’s Oakland Community School will guest host. He’ll be joined by performances from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/numskulloftheluniz/\">Numskull of the Luniz\u003c/a>, The Bobby Jackson Project and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfhawkjaguar/\">WolfHawkJuguar\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A number of other events in October commemorate the Black Panther’s legacy, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd9NJfUygqv/\">a Panther Jam at the Shakur Center\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Friday, Oct. 9. On Sunday, Oct. 11, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/seize-the-time?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae9RvTirno6ZWKYCwGiORB1t6eAvahHR5Ye0Ma-KJ6soVprYcltqaPReN1PYQ_aem_eWRKBEBtUM8wn-x9L5jLGw\">Seize The Time: A Fashion Experience\u003c/a>, led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.futurisme.studio/\">Futurisme Studios\u003c/a> and featuring DJ sets by \u003ca href=\"https://www.homeisforhomies.com/\">Home is for Homies\u003c/a>. And on Saturday, Oct. 17, Pittsburg’s \u003ca href=\"https://bookstore.revisionpub.com/\">RP Books\u003c/a> hosts a conversation with \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvr.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAacRTQt7YCt-KS4SjkgIq5j65jdF8JEWHH5kk81AfIX31l23mQNt9EKmG0Jzlw_aem_Vzx8TXxIJDuHJUjY6NXIfA\">Michael Roosevelt\u003c/a>, author of \u003cem>The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Plan: A Liberatory Journal\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than a half-century ago, when the late \u003ca href=\"https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-panther-party-ten-point-program-1966/\">Dr. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale charted 10 specific needs\u003c/a> of working-class African American people in this country, they couldn’t have fathomed that many of those demands — namely “Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings” and “Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society” — would remain unfulfilled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nor could they have imagined how deeply the work of the Black Panther Party has inspired generations, pushing young people to create change both locally and internationally.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And clearly, the work continues.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Black Panther Party celebrates its 60th anniversary this month with a series of events. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60.org/\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>At the main branch of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> Public Library sits a set of speakers that look like mountains.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The pair of nearly nine-foot white triangular wooden blocks tower over \u003ca href=\"https://blackamericansoundsystem.org/tagged/the%20break%20room\">\u003cem>The Break Room\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which is less of a room and more of a nook off of the second floor’s main hallway. At the base of the speakers is a garden of faux plants, and archival posters of star-studded local events hang in the window behind them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the floor, separating the two mammoth speakers, a pair of long brown wooden blocks are laid horizontally and stacked on top of one another. Written on them in bold red letters are the words “\u003ca href=\"https://blackamericansoundsystem.org/\">Black American Sound System\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994361\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The towering John Henry Sound System is an artistic commentary on labor and culture, music and movements. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“These are 1984 Cerwin-Vegas,” says singer and sonic designer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ddeonbrown/\">Derwin Deon Brown II\u003c/a>, describing the speakers. Brown calls it the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dd4rX4iykUM/\">John Henry Sound System\u003c/a>, named after the Black American folk hero.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown and his towering sound system are the centerpiece of \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/inthestax\">In The Stax\u003c/a>, an annual series of music-related programs across the Berkeley Public Library system. The first performance in the series takes place Thursday, Oct. 1 at the Claremont Branch with instrumentalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/connoisseurrat/\">Connoisseur Rat\u003c/a>, and events continue through the second week of December.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since launching in 2022, the series has featured artists like Oakland punk band \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/5ra-3x0cNxQ?si=-_tfH-67cPYp_zuZ\">Skip the Needle\u003c/a> and soul singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkfX6lwXTHU\">Marisha Ashanti\u003c/a>. Berkeley Public Library Specialist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_readwatchlisten/\">Chinyere Keita\u003c/a>, who organizes the events, says the goal is to bring Black artists into the space.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Oakland, Keita spent her teenage and young adult years at the Berkeley library, working there for the past 15 years. During that time, she’s noticed that younger folks and people of color will overlook the library as a welcoming third space, and assume that all it offers are books and free wi-fi.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just want to always remind people that our culture is here. Our history is here,” she tells me during a recent phone call. “And Derwin Deon Brown II had the exact kind of thing reflected in his artwork.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown is In The Stax’s first artist-in-residence. Along with his John Henry Sound System, he’ll debut his forthcoming album (also titled \u003cem>John Henry\u003c/em>) later this fall. In the meantime, he’s been working with Keita to develop the event series. “And all the programming,” says Keita, “is around Black artists.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg\" alt=\"An African American man in a hat and brown jacket and a woman in a green shirt and large afro pose for a photo inside of a library.\" class=\"wp-image-13994358\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist Derwin Deon Brown II and library specialist Chinyere Keita have programmed a series of events this fall throughout the Berkeley Public Library system. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The series features performances from the likes of lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kayattamusic/\">Kayatta\u003c/a>, a panel discussion about the current state of Black radio, a Wild West Femme Cypher and a workshop where people can burn their own playlists to a CD and create collages as cover art. More than just listening to a lecture, Keita tells me, it’s about weaving new ideas into the culture of the library.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Yoga was actually our most popular program at the Oakland Public Library,” says Brown, referring to a workshop last spring where he collaborated with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blacktoyoga/\">Black to Yoga\u003c/a> and compiled a playlist of songs to center healing. “We’re gonna be doing the same thing at Berkeley Public Library,” he says, “but this time, live.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instruments and vocals, sound waves and varying vibrational energies are tools to help people center themselves. And ultimately the goal is to use those tools to get people to relax and recharge. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994359\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In addition to being a musician and designing the mammoth John Henry Sound System, Derwin Deon Brown II is the youngest member of the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandbca.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadUF8JYpjlSY-QjJAHuM76e8nYpYMxezNfVQ0tBvJIS3oRxhGekji8j2xe-2A_aem_jNfBI64Zd3bz1zSSrO-zUQ\">Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a>. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And when we talk about ‘the break,’” Brown says, “we really want to embody all the definitions of that.” The “break” can be a rest, a dose of culture or a break from habits. It can even be breakbeats found in hip-hop. Ultimately, says Brown, it’s about convincing people to “integrate breaks into our lives.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 27-year-old laments the amount of time that work has taken him away from his family. Originally from Pasadena, he moved to Oakland in his college years, attending San Francisco State University. “Oakland has raised me as a man,” he affirms, now a decade into his East Bay residency. A former legal aid and social worker, Brown admits the corporate ladder is deceiving.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m thinking I’m working my way up and really I’m just on a treadmill, like many people, chasing the next thing,” he tells me with an exhale. “Niggas was tired. You know, we’re working and doing too much shit, man.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>John Henry is an intentional name for Brown’s sound system and forthcoming album. In the folk tale, Henry, a broad-shouldered African-American blue-collar worker with a hammer, bore a hole through a mountain faster a machine, but collapsed and died soon after his victory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s an allegory for Black labor, and the limits of our labor,” Brown professes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Looking out the window from inside of the Main branch of the Berkeley Public Library, as translucent concert posters adorn the windows.\" class=\"wp-image-13994357\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As a part of ‘The Break Room,’ archival concert posters adorn the walls and windows of the Berkeley Public Library. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Brown, as a Black queer man in America, the “machine” he’s in competition with can take many forms, be it new predatory technology or old-fashioned racism. It can even show up internally, he says, clarifying that poor mental health, habitually people-pleasing or bouts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101892/is-it-love-or-limerence-why-intense-chemistry-can-be-misleading\">limerence\u003c/a> are “machines” of a different sort.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How do I temper those machines? How do I study them, observe them and conquer them?” asks the artist. “What would it be like if John Henry survived? That’s what this is about.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the fifth floor of Berkeley’s main library is a multimedia station where people can \u003cem>take a break\u003c/em> and listen to a CD from Gucci Mane and read an article about John Coltrane, or slap a record by Santana and peruse a magazine with Steve Lacy on the cover.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And just a few floors below, encased in hand-cut wooden triangles, are a set of speakers unlike any other, as four 15-inch drivers, two tweeters and a midrange horn come together to sonically spread culture.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re custom-made for pretty loud bass,” Brown says of his John Henry Sound System. Although they’re in a library, the speakers are on par with the ones you’d hear at concert halls, churches and clubs. “And that’s really the sound that I wanted to bring,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Events in the \u003c/em>‘\u003cem>In The Stax’ series run now through Dec. 12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/inthestax\">More details and information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since launching in 2022, the series has featured artists like Oakland punk band \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/5ra-3x0cNxQ?si=-_tfH-67cPYp_zuZ\">Skip the Needle\u003c/a> and soul singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkfX6lwXTHU\">Marisha Ashanti\u003c/a>. Berkeley Public Library Specialist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_readwatchlisten/\">Chinyere Keita\u003c/a>, who organizes the events, says the goal is to bring Black artists into the space.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since launching in 2022, the series has featured artists like Oakland punk band \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/5ra-3x0cNxQ?si=-_tfH-67cPYp_zuZ\">Skip the Needle\u003c/a> and soul singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkfX6lwXTHU\">Marisha Ashanti\u003c/a>. Berkeley Public Library Specialist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_readwatchlisten/\">Chinyere Keita\u003c/a>, who organizes the events, says the goal is to bring Black artists into the space.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Oakland, Keita spent her teenage and young adult years at the Berkeley library, working there for the past 15 years. During that time, she’s noticed that younger folks and people of color will overlook the library as a welcoming third space, and assume that all it offers are books and free wi-fi.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Oakland, Keita spent her teenage and young adult years at the Berkeley library, working there for the past 15 years. During that time, she’s noticed that younger folks and people of color will overlook the library as a welcoming third space, and assume that all it offers are books and free wi-fi.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I just want to always remind people that our culture is here. Our history is here,” she tells me during a recent phone call. “And Derwin Deon Brown II had the exact kind of thing reflected in his artwork.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I just want to always remind people that our culture is here. Our history is here,” she tells me during a recent phone call. “And Derwin Deon Brown II had the exact kind of thing reflected in his artwork.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brown is In The Stax’s first artist-in-residence. Along with his John Henry Sound System, he’ll debut his forthcoming album (also titled \u003cem>John Henry\u003c/em>) later this fall. In the meantime, he’s been working with Keita to develop the event series. “And all the programming,” says Keita, “is around Black artists.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brown is In The Stax’s first artist-in-residence. Along with his John Henry Sound System, he’ll debut his forthcoming album (also titled \u003cem>John Henry\u003c/em>) later this fall. In the meantime, he’s been working with Keita to develop the event series. “And all the programming,” says Keita, “is around Black artists.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "An African American man in a hat and brown jacket and a woman in a green shirt and large afro pose for a photo inside of a library.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg\" alt=\"An African American man in a hat and brown jacket and a woman in a green shirt and large afro pose for a photo inside of a library.\" class=\"wp-image-13994358\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist Derwin Deon Brown II and library specialist Chinyere Keita have programmed a series of events this fall throughout the Berkeley Public Library system.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg\" alt=\"An African American man in a hat and brown jacket and a woman in a green shirt and large afro pose for a photo inside of a library.\" class=\"wp-image-13994358\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist Derwin Deon Brown II and library specialist Chinyere Keita have programmed a series of events this fall throughout the Berkeley Public Library system.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The series features performances from the likes of lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kayattamusic/\">Kayatta\u003c/a>, a panel discussion about the current state of Black radio, a Wild West Femme Cypher and a workshop where people can burn their own playlists to a CD and create collages as cover art. More than just listening to a lecture, Keita tells me, it’s about weaving new ideas into the culture of the library.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The series features performances from the likes of lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kayattamusic/\">Kayatta\u003c/a>, a panel discussion about the current state of Black radio, a Wild West Femme Cypher and a workshop where people can burn their own playlists to a CD and create collages as cover art. More than just listening to a lecture, Keita tells me, it’s about weaving new ideas into the culture of the library.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Yoga was actually our most popular program at the Oakland Public Library,” says Brown, referring to a workshop last spring where he collaborated with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blacktoyoga/\">Black to Yoga\u003c/a> and compiled a playlist of songs to center healing. “We’re gonna be doing the same thing at Berkeley Public Library,” he says, “but this time, live.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Yoga was actually our most popular program at the Oakland Public Library,” says Brown, referring to a workshop last spring where he collaborated with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blacktoyoga/\">Black to Yoga\u003c/a> and compiled a playlist of songs to center healing. “We’re gonna be doing the same thing at Berkeley Public Library,” he says, “but this time, live.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instruments and vocals, sound waves and varying vibrational energies are tools to help people center themselves. And ultimately the goal is to use those tools to get people to relax and recharge. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Instruments and vocals, sound waves and varying vibrational energies are tools to help people center themselves. And ultimately the goal is to use those tools to get people to relax and recharge. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994359\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In addition to being a musician and designing the mammoth John Henry Sound System, Derwin Deon Brown II is the youngest member of the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandbca.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadUF8JYpjlSY-QjJAHuM76e8nYpYMxezNfVQ0tBvJIS3oRxhGekji8j2xe-2A_aem_jNfBI64Zd3bz1zSSrO-zUQ\">Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a>.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994359\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In addition to being a musician and designing the mammoth John Henry Sound System, Derwin Deon Brown II is the youngest member of the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandbca.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadUF8JYpjlSY-QjJAHuM76e8nYpYMxezNfVQ0tBvJIS3oRxhGekji8j2xe-2A_aem_jNfBI64Zd3bz1zSSrO-zUQ\">Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a>.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And when we talk about ‘the break,’” Brown says, “we really want to embody all the definitions of that.” The “break” can be a rest, a dose of culture or a break from habits. It can even be breakbeats found in hip-hop. Ultimately, says Brown, it’s about convincing people to “integrate breaks into our lives.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And when we talk about ‘the break,’” Brown says, “we really want to embody all the definitions of that.” The “break” can be a rest, a dose of culture or a break from habits. It can even be breakbeats found in hip-hop. Ultimately, says Brown, it’s about convincing people to “integrate breaks into our lives.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 27-year-old laments the amount of time that work has taken him away from his family. Originally from Pasadena, he moved to Oakland in his college years, attending San Francisco State University. “Oakland has raised me as a man,” he affirms, now a decade into his East Bay residency. A former legal aid and social worker, Brown admits the corporate ladder is deceiving.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The 27-year-old laments the amount of time that work has taken him away from his family. Originally from Pasadena, he moved to Oakland in his college years, attending San Francisco State University. “Oakland has raised me as a man,” he affirms, now a decade into his East Bay residency. A former legal aid and social worker, Brown admits the corporate ladder is deceiving.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m thinking I’m working my way up and really I’m just on a treadmill, like many people, chasing the next thing,” he tells me with an exhale. “Niggas was tired. You know, we’re working and doing too much shit, man.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m thinking I’m working my way up and really I’m just on a treadmill, like many people, chasing the next thing,” he tells me with an exhale. “Niggas was tired. You know, we’re working and doing too much shit, man.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>John Henry is an intentional name for Brown’s sound system and forthcoming album. In the folk tale, Henry, a broad-shouldered African-American blue-collar worker with a hammer, bore a hole through a mountain faster a machine, but collapsed and died soon after his victory.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>John Henry is an intentional name for Brown’s sound system and forthcoming album. In the folk tale, Henry, a broad-shouldered African-American blue-collar worker with a hammer, bore a hole through a mountain faster a machine, but collapsed and died soon after his victory.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s an allegory for Black labor, and the limits of our labor,” Brown professes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s an allegory for Black labor, and the limits of our labor,” Brown professes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Looking out the window from inside of the Main branch of the Berkeley Public Library, as translucent concert posters adorn the windows.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Looking out the window from inside of the Main branch of the Berkeley Public Library, as translucent concert posters adorn the windows.\" class=\"wp-image-13994357\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As a part of ‘The Break Room,’ archival concert posters adorn the walls and windows of the Berkeley Public Library.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Looking out the window from inside of the Main branch of the Berkeley Public Library, as translucent concert posters adorn the windows.\" class=\"wp-image-13994357\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As a part of ‘The Break Room,’ archival concert posters adorn the walls and windows of the Berkeley Public Library.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Brown, as a Black queer man in America, the “machine” he’s in competition with can take many forms, be it new predatory technology or old-fashioned racism. It can even show up internally, he says, clarifying that poor mental health, habitually people-pleasing or bouts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101892/is-it-love-or-limerence-why-intense-chemistry-can-be-misleading\">limerence\u003c/a> are “machines” of a different sort.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Brown, as a Black queer man in America, the “machine” he’s in competition with can take many forms, be it new predatory technology or old-fashioned racism. It can even show up internally, he says, clarifying that poor mental health, habitually people-pleasing or bouts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101892/is-it-love-or-limerence-why-intense-chemistry-can-be-misleading\">limerence\u003c/a> are “machines” of a different sort.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“How do I temper those machines? How do I study them, observe them and conquer them?” asks the artist. “What would it be like if John Henry survived? That’s what this is about.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“How do I temper those machines? How do I study them, observe them and conquer them?” asks the artist. “What would it be like if John Henry survived? That’s what this is about.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the fifth floor of Berkeley’s main library is a multimedia station where people can \u003cem>take a break\u003c/em> and listen to a CD from Gucci Mane and read an article about John Coltrane, or slap a record by Santana and peruse a magazine with Steve Lacy on the cover.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the fifth floor of Berkeley’s main library is a multimedia station where people can \u003cem>take a break\u003c/em> and listen to a CD from Gucci Mane and read an article about John Coltrane, or slap a record by Santana and peruse a magazine with Steve Lacy on the cover.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And just a few floors below, encased in hand-cut wooden triangles, are a set of speakers unlike any other, as four 15-inch drivers, two tweeters and a midrange horn come together to sonically spread culture.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And just a few floors below, encased in hand-cut wooden triangles, are a set of speakers unlike any other, as four 15-inch drivers, two tweeters and a midrange horn come together to sonically spread culture.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They’re custom-made for pretty loud bass,” Brown says of his John Henry Sound System. Although they’re in a library, the speakers are on par with the ones you’d hear at concert halls, churches and clubs. “And that’s really the sound that I wanted to bring,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They’re custom-made for pretty loud bass,” Brown says of his John Henry Sound System. Although they’re in a library, the speakers are on par with the ones you’d hear at concert halls, churches and clubs. “And that’s really the sound that I wanted to bring,” he says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Events in the \u003c/em>‘\u003cem>In The Stax’ series run now through Dec. 12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/inthestax\">More details and information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Events in the \u003c/em>‘\u003cem>In The Stax’ series run now through Dec. 12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/inthestax\">More details and information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Four 15s slappin' in... your local public library?!",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>At the main branch of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> Public Library sits a set of speakers that look like mountains.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The pair of nearly nine-foot white triangular wooden blocks tower over \u003ca href=\"https://blackamericansoundsystem.org/tagged/the%20break%20room\">\u003cem>The Break Room\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which is less of a room and more of a nook off of the second floor’s main hallway. At the base of the speakers is a garden of faux plants, and archival posters of star-studded local events hang in the window behind them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the floor, separating the two mammoth speakers, a pair of long brown wooden blocks are laid horizontally and stacked on top of one another. Written on them in bold red letters are the words “\u003ca href=\"https://blackamericansoundsystem.org/\">Black American Sound System\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994361\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4941-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The towering John Henry Sound System is an artistic commentary on labor and culture, music and movements. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“These are 1984 Cerwin-Vegas,” says singer and sonic designer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ddeonbrown/\">Derwin Deon Brown II\u003c/a>, describing the speakers. Brown calls it the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dd4rX4iykUM/\">John Henry Sound System\u003c/a>, named after the Black American folk hero.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown and his towering sound system are the centerpiece of \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/inthestax\">In The Stax\u003c/a>, an annual series of music-related programs across the Berkeley Public Library system. The first performance in the series takes place Thursday, Oct. 1 at the Claremont Branch with instrumentalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/connoisseurrat/\">Connoisseur Rat\u003c/a>, and events continue through the second week of December.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since launching in 2022, the series has featured artists like Oakland punk band \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/5ra-3x0cNxQ?si=-_tfH-67cPYp_zuZ\">Skip the Needle\u003c/a> and soul singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkfX6lwXTHU\">Marisha Ashanti\u003c/a>. Berkeley Public Library Specialist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_readwatchlisten/\">Chinyere Keita\u003c/a>, who organizes the events, says the goal is to bring Black artists into the space.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Oakland, Keita spent her teenage and young adult years at the Berkeley library, working there for the past 15 years. During that time, she’s noticed that younger folks and people of color will overlook the library as a welcoming third space, and assume that all it offers are books and free wi-fi.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just want to always remind people that our culture is here. Our history is here,” she tells me during a recent phone call. “And Derwin Deon Brown II had the exact kind of thing reflected in his artwork.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown is In The Stax’s first artist-in-residence. Along with his John Henry Sound System, he’ll debut his forthcoming album (also titled \u003cem>John Henry\u003c/em>) later this fall. In the meantime, he’s been working with Keita to develop the event series. “And all the programming,” says Keita, “is around Black artists.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg\" alt=\"An African American man in a hat and brown jacket and a woman in a green shirt and large afro pose for a photo inside of a library.\" class=\"wp-image-13994358\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DSC01545-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist Derwin Deon Brown II and library specialist Chinyere Keita have programmed a series of events this fall throughout the Berkeley Public Library system. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The series features performances from the likes of lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kayattamusic/\">Kayatta\u003c/a>, a panel discussion about the current state of Black radio, a Wild West Femme Cypher and a workshop where people can burn their own playlists to a CD and create collages as cover art. More than just listening to a lecture, Keita tells me, it’s about weaving new ideas into the culture of the library.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Yoga was actually our most popular program at the Oakland Public Library,” says Brown, referring to a workshop last spring where he collaborated with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blacktoyoga/\">Black to Yoga\u003c/a> and compiled a playlist of songs to center healing. “We’re gonna be doing the same thing at Berkeley Public Library,” he says, “but this time, live.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instruments and vocals, sound waves and varying vibrational energies are tools to help people center themselves. And ultimately the goal is to use those tools to get people to relax and recharge. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994359\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4933-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In addition to being a musician and designing the mammoth John Henry Sound System, Derwin Deon Brown II is the youngest member of the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandbca.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadUF8JYpjlSY-QjJAHuM76e8nYpYMxezNfVQ0tBvJIS3oRxhGekji8j2xe-2A_aem_jNfBI64Zd3bz1zSSrO-zUQ\">Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a>. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And when we talk about ‘the break,’” Brown says, “we really want to embody all the definitions of that.” The “break” can be a rest, a dose of culture or a break from habits. It can even be breakbeats found in hip-hop. Ultimately, says Brown, it’s about convincing people to “integrate breaks into our lives.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 27-year-old laments the amount of time that work has taken him away from his family. Originally from Pasadena, he moved to Oakland in his college years, attending San Francisco State University. “Oakland has raised me as a man,” he affirms, now a decade into his East Bay residency. A former legal aid and social worker, Brown admits the corporate ladder is deceiving.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m thinking I’m working my way up and really I’m just on a treadmill, like many people, chasing the next thing,” he tells me with an exhale. “Niggas was tired. You know, we’re working and doing too much shit, man.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>John Henry is an intentional name for Brown’s sound system and forthcoming album. In the folk tale, Henry, a broad-shouldered African-American blue-collar worker with a hammer, bore a hole through a mountain faster a machine, but collapsed and died soon after his victory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s an allegory for Black labor, and the limits of our labor,” Brown professes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Looking out the window from inside of the Main branch of the Berkeley Public Library, as translucent concert posters adorn the windows.\" class=\"wp-image-13994357\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_4914-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As a part of ‘The Break Room,’ archival concert posters adorn the walls and windows of the Berkeley Public Library. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Brown, as a Black queer man in America, the “machine” he’s in competition with can take many forms, be it new predatory technology or old-fashioned racism. It can even show up internally, he says, clarifying that poor mental health, habitually people-pleasing or bouts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101892/is-it-love-or-limerence-why-intense-chemistry-can-be-misleading\">limerence\u003c/a> are “machines” of a different sort.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How do I temper those machines? How do I study them, observe them and conquer them?” asks the artist. “What would it be like if John Henry survived? That’s what this is about.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the fifth floor of Berkeley’s main library is a multimedia station where people can \u003cem>take a break\u003c/em> and listen to a CD from Gucci Mane and read an article about John Coltrane, or slap a record by Santana and peruse a magazine with Steve Lacy on the cover.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And just a few floors below, encased in hand-cut wooden triangles, are a set of speakers unlike any other, as four 15-inch drivers, two tweeters and a midrange horn come together to sonically spread culture.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re custom-made for pretty loud bass,” Brown says of his John Henry Sound System. Although they’re in a library, the speakers are on par with the ones you’d hear at concert halls, churches and clubs. “And that’s really the sound that I wanted to bring,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Events in the \u003c/em>‘\u003cem>In The Stax’ series run now through Dec. 12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/inthestax\">More details and information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "malik-seneferu-hunters-point-studio-painting-san-francisco",
"title": "In Hunters Point, Black History Comes Alive in Malik Seneferu’s Paintings",
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"headTitle": "In Hunters Point, Black History Comes Alive in Malik Seneferu’s Paintings | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Inside \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/maliksart/\">Malik Seneferu’s\u003c/a> arts studio, cultural movements take the form of paintings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Situated on the hallowed grounds of the Hunters Point Shipyard, the eggshell-colored room holds brightly painted canvases that illustrate the artist’s appreciation of history, connection to the soil and love for the people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu paints portraits that pair elements of the African Diaspora with Bay Area culture under one common philosophy: “Remain creative.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man faces a colorful canvas as he paints in a studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13994120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, ‘Juneteenth to Black August,’ 2025. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu’s art has been in galleries and museums, but it’s also been out in the community. He worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.markdoox.com/\">Mark Dukes\u003c/a> on \u003cem>Dancing Saints\u003c/em>, a piece that adorns the walls of St. Gregory’s Church in San Francisco. In 2020, he partnered with community members to paint the words “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11832947/housing-black-tenderloin-mural-spotlights-black-san-franciscos-housing-crisis\">HOUSING BLACK\u003c/a>” on the streets of the Tenderloin to shed light on the housing crisis. A year later, he worked with young artists to create a series of pieces on \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/malik-seneferus-mural-installation-evans-avenue\">Evans Avenue\u003c/a> in Hunters Point to amplify calls for environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu is no stranger to working on multiple projects at a time. Currently, that includes a series of paved symbols to be laid as part of the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3050\">Buchanan Street Mall\u003c/a>’s “memory walk” in the Fillmore District. This week, for \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Bay Area Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, he’ll lead \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoxuNSR-RTUu9BXTciOj1gJWmxt7wNzVsU-_YNDLTA10BLDQ/viewform\">a workshop touring the Third Street area of Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But no matter where his work goes, he tells me, it never strays too far from where he started, or why.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was the youngest [artist], and first artist from Bayview-Hunters Point, to be given the opportunity to have a studio down here in terms of a residency,” Seneferu tells me as we stand at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepointart.com/hunters-point-shipyard\">Hunters Point Shipyard studios\u003c/a>. The building is a remnant of the U.S. Navy shipyard and laboratory that was housed at the southeasternmost point of San Francisco for most of the 20th century. The crane off the coast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">constant reports of toxins in the soil\u003c/a> are lingering ghosts of that history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu first worked in this studio 30 years ago. In 1996, he was awarded a fellowship and commissioned to do a piece for the film \u003cem>The Panther\u003c/em>, which he debuted at the film’s premiere. Before that, he was just a kid creating at the crib. “I was still doing my work out of my mother’s house when I lived on Harbor Road,” he recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Inside of a studio at Hunters Point Shipyard, Malik Seneferu’s art fills a room with stories of the past and visions of the future. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Hunters Point, Seneferu grew up with a mother who was a clandestine artist. But the glimmers of her work that he did see stayed with him. “I saw a doodling on a matchbook,” he recalls, “which inspired a lot of my miniature work that I do.” Similarly, her depictions of the local landscape influence his work to this day, particularly his 2014 \u003ca href=\"https://www.artsy.net/artwork/malik-senefreru-from-the-hill-and-beyond\">\u003cem>From the Hill and Beyond\u003c/em> \u003c/a>series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu pushed his mother to pursue her art, but she was clear: Creating was \u003cem>his\u003c/em> thing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I really started out on a mission to prove to my mom that [art] could be something valuable to get into,” Seneferu tells me. As his work grew, so did his goals. “I wanted to use my art to show that I can defy gravity,” he says — metaphorically referencing economic disparities, food deserts, traumatic experiences and “white supremacy across the board.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Self-taught as an artist, the young Seneferu bounced between a dozen elementary schools and a handful of middle schools before graduating high school from McAteer School of the Arts. As a young adult, Seneferu worked with the organizer Ms. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Julia-Middleton-leader-of-youth-in-Hunters-2650605.php\">Julia “Aunt Bea” Middleton\u003c/a> and taught art to kids at tenant association meetings around the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around that time, he saw a mural that changed his artistic trajectory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://deweycrumpler.com/\">Dewey Crumpler\u003c/a> was working on this mural called \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmuralarts.com/mural/270.html#\">\u003cem>The Fire Next Time\u003c/em>,\u003c/a>” recalls Seneferu. It was based on James Baldwin’s book of the same name, as well as Baldwin’s San Francisco-based documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4sjoomxSa8\">Take This Hammer\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “When the youngsters were saying ‘Man, you know the issues in San Francisco are even worse than the south,’” says Seneferu.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It opened Seneferu’s eyes to what art could achieve. Crumpler, along with the late painter and community pillar \u003ca href=\"https://www.shipyardartists.com/artist/joesam/\">JoeSam\u003c/a>, became a mentor to Seneferu. (For this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, Crumpler will open his first major solo museum exhibition in nearly two decades, \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/event/2QyY2/dewey-crumpler-sonic-lineages?iframe=no\">\u003cem>Sonic Lineages\u003c/em>\u003c/a> at the Museum of the African Diaspora.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"An African American man in a brown outfit panting a giant colorful mural.\" class=\"wp-image-13994148\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-2000x2667.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist at work: a glimpse inside of Malik Seneferu’s studio. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his studio, Seneferu walks around the many supplies, splotches of paint and canvases to show me a series in progress called \u003cem>Forever Fourteen\u003c/em>. In his long locs and brown monotone outfit, he explains that the series traces tragic instances, at 11-year intervals, from African-American history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He starts with 1933, when Marcus Garvey stopped publishing his newspaper, \u003cem>The Negro World\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And in 1944, we got \u003ca href=\"https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/remembering-the-execution-of-14-year-old-george-stinney-80-years-later\">George Stinney\u003c/a>,” Seneferu tells me, referring to the 14 year-old African American boy who was executed after being wrongfully convicted of killing two white girls in South Carolina. “It was really a big deal,” says Seneferu. “They tried to sweep it under the rug. We didn’t allow it to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A painting of a stoic looking Black young woman.\" class=\"wp-image-13994288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, Latasha Harlins, 2022. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1955, the murder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/murder-of-emmett-till/\">Emmett Till\u003c/a>, a 14 year-old African American boy who was killed by two white men after he allegedly whistled at a white girl, shocked the nation. “And that kicked off the civil rights movement,” says Seneferu. Eleven years later, in 1966, teenaged \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/Hunters_Point_Uprising\">Matthew Johnson, Jr\u003c/a>. was killed by San Francisco Police in Hunters Point, inspiring an uprising.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1977, hip-hop started growing out of inner-city neighborhoods, and 11 years later the crack cocaine epidemic devastated those same Black communities. The series ends with a piece dedicated to 15 year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095444468/storycorps-remembering-15-year-old-latasha-harlins\">Latasha Harlins\u003c/a>, who was shot and killed by a storeowner in 1991.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The series encompasses many Seneferu trademarks; it encapsulates key aspects of 20th century Black history while illustrating instances that’ve informed his worldview.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Having grown up with an artistic mother and a stepfather who was a gunnery sergeant in the Marines during the Vietnam War, he’s learned to speak through painting as a second artistic language. His first artistic language was hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A table full of small painted art pieces.\" class=\"wp-image-13994289\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A table full of Malike Seneferu’s work. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In 1988,” he says, “I was about a couple of blocks away from here, I was rapping at the time.” He started as a beatboxer, and soon learned to use his deep voice to deliver his lyrics. “I really had something I wanted to say, and I wanted it to be heard,” Seneferu tells me. “I found that the best way I could do that is in my painting,” he says, and in a way, “I’m still rapping.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first piece in the \u003cem>Forever Fourteen \u003c/em>series, an image dedicated to George Stinney, is on permanent display at the \u003ca href=\"https://thehubinsf.org/\">Sunnydale Hub\u003c/a>. Seneferu plans on completing the series with a portrait in the spirit of Matthew Johnson, Jr. next year. In the meantime, he’s juggling multiple projects as usual, ranging from environmental advocacy to economic education, all done through the visual arts and an innovative mindset.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A lot of the things I do are strictly from my imagination, because it’s really defiance,” Seneferu tells me. “To be creative is to defy annihilation. That’s why I’ll always remain creative.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Malik Seneferu will also participate in the Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios open studios event on Oct. 17 and 18 at the Hunters Point Shipyard (451 Galvez Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124).\u003c/em> \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shipyard-open-studios-fall-2026-registration-1992234233221?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&sg=6ebd4af823122ca2a076762936f3f5be642a0fc6087d942b690ea23370a12f69b0e61ce80cef0a8b67b1b3aba3869b58a11565fb11670033e88d4aa2a62d9df530fbd95445996d453ac082a7\">Check here for tickets and more information\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Inside \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/maliksart/\">Malik Seneferu’s\u003c/a> arts studio, cultural movements take the form of paintings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Situated on the hallowed grounds of the Hunters Point Shipyard, the eggshell-colored room holds brightly painted canvases that illustrate the artist’s appreciation of history, connection to the soil and love for the people.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seneferu paints portraits that pair elements of the African Diaspora with Bay Area culture under one common philosophy: “Remain creative.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man faces a colorful canvas as he paints in a studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13994120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, ‘Juneteenth to Black August,’ 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seneferu’s art has been in galleries and museums, but it’s also been out in the community. He worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.markdoox.com/\">Mark Dukes\u003c/a> on \u003cem>Dancing Saints\u003c/em>, a piece that adorns the walls of St. Gregory’s Church in San Francisco. In 2020, he partnered with community members to paint the words “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11832947/housing-black-tenderloin-mural-spotlights-black-san-franciscos-housing-crisis\">HOUSING BLACK\u003c/a>” on the streets of the Tenderloin to shed light on the housing crisis. A year later, he worked with young artists to create a series of pieces on \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/malik-seneferus-mural-installation-evans-avenue\">Evans Avenue\u003c/a> in Hunters Point to amplify calls for environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Seneferu’s art has been in galleries and museums, but it’s also been out in the community. He worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.markdoox.com/\">Mark Dukes\u003c/a> on \u003cem>Dancing Saints\u003c/em>, a piece that adorns the walls of St. Gregory’s Church in San Francisco. In 2020, he partnered with community members to paint the words “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11832947/housing-black-tenderloin-mural-spotlights-black-san-franciscos-housing-crisis\">HOUSING BLACK\u003c/a>” on the streets of the Tenderloin to shed light on the housing crisis. A year later, he worked with young artists to create a series of pieces on \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/malik-seneferus-mural-installation-evans-avenue\">Evans Avenue\u003c/a> in Hunters Point to amplify calls for environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seneferu is no stranger to working on multiple projects at a time. Currently, that includes a series of paved symbols to be laid as part of the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3050\">Buchanan Street Mall\u003c/a>’s “memory walk” in the Fillmore District. This week, for \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Bay Area Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, he’ll lead \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoxuNSR-RTUu9BXTciOj1gJWmxt7wNzVsU-_YNDLTA10BLDQ/viewform\">a workshop touring the Third Street area of Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Seneferu is no stranger to working on multiple projects at a time. Currently, that includes a series of paved symbols to be laid as part of the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3050\">Buchanan Street Mall\u003c/a>’s “memory walk” in the Fillmore District. This week, for \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Bay Area Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, he’ll lead \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoxuNSR-RTUu9BXTciOj1gJWmxt7wNzVsU-_YNDLTA10BLDQ/viewform\">a workshop touring the Third Street area of Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But no matter where his work goes, he tells me, it never strays too far from where he started, or why.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was the youngest [artist], and first artist from Bayview-Hunters Point, to be given the opportunity to have a studio down here in terms of a residency,” Seneferu tells me as we stand at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepointart.com/hunters-point-shipyard\">Hunters Point Shipyard studios\u003c/a>. The building is a remnant of the U.S. Navy shipyard and laboratory that was housed at the southeasternmost point of San Francisco for most of the 20th century. The crane off the coast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">constant reports of toxins in the soil\u003c/a> are lingering ghosts of that history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was the youngest [artist], and first artist from Bayview-Hunters Point, to be given the opportunity to have a studio down here in terms of a residency,” Seneferu tells me as we stand at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepointart.com/hunters-point-shipyard\">Hunters Point Shipyard studios\u003c/a>. The building is a remnant of the U.S. Navy shipyard and laboratory that was housed at the southeasternmost point of San Francisco for most of the 20th century. The crane off the coast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">constant reports of toxins in the soil\u003c/a> are lingering ghosts of that history.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seneferu first worked in this studio 30 years ago. In 1996, he was awarded a fellowship and commissioned to do a piece for the film \u003cem>The Panther\u003c/em>, which he debuted at the film’s premiere. Before that, he was just a kid creating at the crib. “I was still doing my work out of my mother’s house when I lived on Harbor Road,” he recalls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Seneferu first worked in this studio 30 years ago. In 1996, he was awarded a fellowship and commissioned to do a piece for the film \u003cem>The Panther\u003c/em>, which he debuted at the film’s premiere. Before that, he was just a kid creating at the crib. “I was still doing my work out of my mother’s house when I lived on Harbor Road,” he recalls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Inside of a studio at Hunters Point Shipyard, Malik Seneferu’s art fills a room with stories of the past and visions of the future. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994124\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Inside of a studio at Hunters Point Shipyard, Malik Seneferu’s art fills a room with stories of the past and visions of the future. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Hunters Point, Seneferu grew up with a mother who was a clandestine artist. But the glimmers of her work that he did see stayed with him. “I saw a doodling on a matchbook,” he recalls, “which inspired a lot of my miniature work that I do.” Similarly, her depictions of the local landscape influence his work to this day, particularly his 2014 \u003ca href=\"https://www.artsy.net/artwork/malik-senefreru-from-the-hill-and-beyond\">\u003cem>From the Hill and Beyond\u003c/em> \u003c/a>series.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Hunters Point, Seneferu grew up with a mother who was a clandestine artist. But the glimmers of her work that he did see stayed with him. “I saw a doodling on a matchbook,” he recalls, “which inspired a lot of my miniature work that I do.” Similarly, her depictions of the local landscape influence his work to this day, particularly his 2014 \u003ca href=\"https://www.artsy.net/artwork/malik-senefreru-from-the-hill-and-beyond\">\u003cem>From the Hill and Beyond\u003c/em> \u003c/a>series.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I really started out on a mission to prove to my mom that [art] could be something valuable to get into,” Seneferu tells me. As his work grew, so did his goals. “I wanted to use my art to show that I can defy gravity,” he says — metaphorically referencing economic disparities, food deserts, traumatic experiences and “white supremacy across the board.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I really started out on a mission to prove to my mom that [art] could be something valuable to get into,” Seneferu tells me. As his work grew, so did his goals. “I wanted to use my art to show that I can defy gravity,” he says — metaphorically referencing economic disparities, food deserts, traumatic experiences and “white supremacy across the board.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Self-taught as an artist, the young Seneferu bounced between a dozen elementary schools and a handful of middle schools before graduating high school from McAteer School of the Arts. As a young adult, Seneferu worked with the organizer Ms. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Julia-Middleton-leader-of-youth-in-Hunters-2650605.php\">Julia “Aunt Bea” Middleton\u003c/a> and taught art to kids at tenant association meetings around the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around that time, he saw a mural that changed his artistic trajectory.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://deweycrumpler.com/\">Dewey Crumpler\u003c/a> was working on this mural called \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmuralarts.com/mural/270.html#\">\u003cem>The Fire Next Time\u003c/em>,\u003c/a>” recalls Seneferu. It was based on James Baldwin’s book of the same name, as well as Baldwin’s San Francisco-based documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4sjoomxSa8\">Take This Hammer\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “When the youngsters were saying ‘Man, you know the issues in San Francisco are even worse than the south,’” says Seneferu.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://deweycrumpler.com/\">Dewey Crumpler\u003c/a> was working on this mural called \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmuralarts.com/mural/270.html#\">\u003cem>The Fire Next Time\u003c/em>,\u003c/a>” recalls Seneferu. It was based on James Baldwin’s book of the same name, as well as Baldwin’s San Francisco-based documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4sjoomxSa8\">Take This Hammer\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “When the youngsters were saying ‘Man, you know the issues in San Francisco are even worse than the south,’” says Seneferu.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It opened Seneferu’s eyes to what art could achieve. Crumpler, along with the late painter and community pillar \u003ca href=\"https://www.shipyardartists.com/artist/joesam/\">JoeSam\u003c/a>, became a mentor to Seneferu. (For this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, Crumpler will open his first major solo museum exhibition in nearly two decades, \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/event/2QyY2/dewey-crumpler-sonic-lineages?iframe=no\">\u003cem>Sonic Lineages\u003c/em>\u003c/a> at the Museum of the African Diaspora.) \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It opened Seneferu’s eyes to what art could achieve. Crumpler, along with the late painter and community pillar \u003ca href=\"https://www.shipyardartists.com/artist/joesam/\">JoeSam\u003c/a>, became a mentor to Seneferu. (For this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, Crumpler will open his first major solo museum exhibition in nearly two decades, \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/event/2QyY2/dewey-crumpler-sonic-lineages?iframe=no\">\u003cem>Sonic Lineages\u003c/em>\u003c/a> at the Museum of the African Diaspora.) \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"An African American man in a brown outfit panting a giant colorful mural.\" class=\"wp-image-13994148\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-2000x2667.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist at work: a glimpse inside of Malik Seneferu’s studio.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"An African American man in a brown outfit panting a giant colorful mural.\" class=\"wp-image-13994148\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist at work: a glimpse inside of Malik Seneferu’s studio.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his studio, Seneferu walks around the many supplies, splotches of paint and canvases to show me a series in progress called \u003cem>Forever Fourteen\u003c/em>. In his long locs and brown monotone outfit, he explains that the series traces tragic instances, at 11-year intervals, from African-American history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his studio, Seneferu walks around the many supplies, splotches of paint and canvases to show me a series in progress called \u003cem>Forever Fourteen\u003c/em>. In his long locs and brown monotone outfit, he explains that the series traces tragic instances, at 11-year intervals, from African-American history.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He starts with 1933, when Marcus Garvey stopped publishing his newspaper, \u003cem>The Negro World\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He starts with 1933, when Marcus Garvey stopped publishing his newspaper, \u003cem>The Negro World\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And in 1944, we got \u003ca href=\"https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/remembering-the-execution-of-14-year-old-george-stinney-80-years-later\">George Stinney\u003c/a>,” Seneferu tells me, referring to the 14 year-old African American boy who was executed after being wrongfully convicted of killing two white girls in South Carolina. “It was really a big deal,” says Seneferu. “They tried to sweep it under the rug. We didn’t allow it to happen.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And in 1944, we got \u003ca href=\"https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/remembering-the-execution-of-14-year-old-george-stinney-80-years-later\">George Stinney\u003c/a>,” Seneferu tells me, referring to the 14 year-old African American boy who was executed after being wrongfully convicted of killing two white girls in South Carolina. “It was really a big deal,” says Seneferu. “They tried to sweep it under the rug. We didn’t allow it to happen.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A painting of a stoic looking Black young woman.\" class=\"wp-image-13994288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, Latasha Harlins, 2022. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A painting of a stoic looking Black young woman.\" class=\"wp-image-13994288\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, Latasha Harlins, 2022. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 1955, the murder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/murder-of-emmett-till/\">Emmett Till\u003c/a>, a 14 year-old African American boy who was killed by two white men after he allegedly whistled at a white girl, shocked the nation. “And that kicked off the civil rights movement,” says Seneferu. Eleven years later, in 1966, teenaged \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/Hunters_Point_Uprising\">Matthew Johnson, Jr\u003c/a>. was killed by San Francisco Police in Hunters Point, inspiring an uprising.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 1955, the murder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/murder-of-emmett-till/\">Emmett Till\u003c/a>, a 14 year-old African American boy who was killed by two white men after he allegedly whistled at a white girl, shocked the nation. “And that kicked off the civil rights movement,” says Seneferu. Eleven years later, in 1966, teenaged \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/Hunters_Point_Uprising\">Matthew Johnson, Jr\u003c/a>. was killed by San Francisco Police in Hunters Point, inspiring an uprising.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 1977, hip-hop started growing out of inner-city neighborhoods, and 11 years later the crack cocaine epidemic devastated those same Black communities. The series ends with a piece dedicated to 15 year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095444468/storycorps-remembering-15-year-old-latasha-harlins\">Latasha Harlins\u003c/a>, who was shot and killed by a storeowner in 1991.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 1977, hip-hop started growing out of inner-city neighborhoods, and 11 years later the crack cocaine epidemic devastated those same Black communities. The series ends with a piece dedicated to 15 year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095444468/storycorps-remembering-15-year-old-latasha-harlins\">Latasha Harlins\u003c/a>, who was shot and killed by a storeowner in 1991.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The series encompasses many Seneferu trademarks; it encapsulates key aspects of 20th century Black history while illustrating instances that’ve informed his worldview.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The series encompasses many Seneferu trademarks; it encapsulates key aspects of 20th century Black history while illustrating instances that’ve informed his worldview.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Having grown up with an artistic mother and a stepfather who was a gunnery sergeant in the Marines during the Vietnam War, he’s learned to speak through painting as a second artistic language. His first artistic language was hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A table full of small painted art pieces.\" class=\"wp-image-13994289\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A table full of Malike Seneferu’s work. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A table full of small painted art pieces.\" class=\"wp-image-13994289\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A table full of Malike Seneferu’s work. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In 1988,” he says, “I was about a couple of blocks away from here, I was rapping at the time.” He started as a beatboxer, and soon learned to use his deep voice to deliver his lyrics. “I really had something I wanted to say, and I wanted it to be heard,” Seneferu tells me. “I found that the best way I could do that is in my painting,” he says, and in a way, “I’m still rapping.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In 1988,” he says, “I was about a couple of blocks away from here, I was rapping at the time.” He started as a beatboxer, and soon learned to use his deep voice to deliver his lyrics. “I really had something I wanted to say, and I wanted it to be heard,” Seneferu tells me. “I found that the best way I could do that is in my painting,” he says, and in a way, “I’m still rapping.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The first piece in the \u003cem>Forever Fourteen \u003c/em>series, an image dedicated to George Stinney, is on permanent display at the \u003ca href=\"https://thehubinsf.org/\">Sunnydale Hub\u003c/a>. Seneferu plans on completing the series with a portrait in the spirit of Matthew Johnson, Jr. next year. In the meantime, he’s juggling multiple projects as usual, ranging from environmental advocacy to economic education, all done through the visual arts and an innovative mindset.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The first piece in the \u003cem>Forever Fourteen \u003c/em>series, an image dedicated to George Stinney, is on permanent display at the \u003ca href=\"https://thehubinsf.org/\">Sunnydale Hub\u003c/a>. Seneferu plans on completing the series with a portrait in the spirit of Matthew Johnson, Jr. next year. In the meantime, he’s juggling multiple projects as usual, ranging from environmental advocacy to economic education, all done through the visual arts and an innovative mindset.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A lot of the things I do are strictly from my imagination, because it’s really defiance,” Seneferu tells me. “To be creative is to defy annihilation. That’s why I’ll always remain creative.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Malik Seneferu will also participate in the Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios open studios event on Oct. 17 and 18 at the Hunters Point Shipyard (451 Galvez Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124).\u003c/em> \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shipyard-open-studios-fall-2026-registration-1992234233221?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&sg=6ebd4af823122ca2a076762936f3f5be642a0fc6087d942b690ea23370a12f69b0e61ce80cef0a8b67b1b3aba3869b58a11565fb11670033e88d4aa2a62d9df530fbd95445996d453ac082a7\">Check here for tickets and more information\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Malik Seneferu will also participate in the Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios open studios event on Oct. 17 and 18 at the Hunters Point Shipyard (451 Galvez Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124).\u003c/em> \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shipyard-open-studios-fall-2026-registration-1992234233221?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&sg=6ebd4af823122ca2a076762936f3f5be642a0fc6087d942b690ea23370a12f69b0e61ce80cef0a8b67b1b3aba3869b58a11565fb11670033e88d4aa2a62d9df530fbd95445996d453ac082a7\">Check here for tickets and more information\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Not far from where he grew up, Seneferu’s studio is a cultural lab guided by one motto: ‘Remain creative.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Inside \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/maliksart/\">Malik Seneferu’s\u003c/a> arts studio, cultural movements take the form of paintings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Situated on the hallowed grounds of the Hunters Point Shipyard, the eggshell-colored room holds brightly painted canvases that illustrate the artist’s appreciation of history, connection to the soil and love for the people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu paints portraits that pair elements of the African Diaspora with Bay Area culture under one common philosophy: “Remain creative.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man faces a colorful canvas as he paints in a studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13994120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9989-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, ‘Juneteenth to Black August,’ 2025. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu’s art has been in galleries and museums, but it’s also been out in the community. He worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.markdoox.com/\">Mark Dukes\u003c/a> on \u003cem>Dancing Saints\u003c/em>, a piece that adorns the walls of St. Gregory’s Church in San Francisco. In 2020, he partnered with community members to paint the words “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11832947/housing-black-tenderloin-mural-spotlights-black-san-franciscos-housing-crisis\">HOUSING BLACK\u003c/a>” on the streets of the Tenderloin to shed light on the housing crisis. A year later, he worked with young artists to create a series of pieces on \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/malik-seneferus-mural-installation-evans-avenue\">Evans Avenue\u003c/a> in Hunters Point to amplify calls for environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu is no stranger to working on multiple projects at a time. Currently, that includes a series of paved symbols to be laid as part of the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3050\">Buchanan Street Mall\u003c/a>’s “memory walk” in the Fillmore District. This week, for \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Bay Area Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, he’ll lead \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoxuNSR-RTUu9BXTciOj1gJWmxt7wNzVsU-_YNDLTA10BLDQ/viewform\">a workshop touring the Third Street area of Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But no matter where his work goes, he tells me, it never strays too far from where he started, or why.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was the youngest [artist], and first artist from Bayview-Hunters Point, to be given the opportunity to have a studio down here in terms of a residency,” Seneferu tells me as we stand at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepointart.com/hunters-point-shipyard\">Hunters Point Shipyard studios\u003c/a>. The building is a remnant of the U.S. Navy shipyard and laboratory that was housed at the southeasternmost point of San Francisco for most of the 20th century. The crane off the coast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">constant reports of toxins in the soil\u003c/a> are lingering ghosts of that history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu first worked in this studio 30 years ago. In 1996, he was awarded a fellowship and commissioned to do a piece for the film \u003cem>The Panther\u003c/em>, which he debuted at the film’s premiere. Before that, he was just a kid creating at the crib. “I was still doing my work out of my mother’s house when I lived on Harbor Road,” he recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_9977-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Inside of a studio at Hunters Point Shipyard, Malik Seneferu’s art fills a room with stories of the past and visions of the future. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Hunters Point, Seneferu grew up with a mother who was a clandestine artist. But the glimmers of her work that he did see stayed with him. “I saw a doodling on a matchbook,” he recalls, “which inspired a lot of my miniature work that I do.” Similarly, her depictions of the local landscape influence his work to this day, particularly his 2014 \u003ca href=\"https://www.artsy.net/artwork/malik-senefreru-from-the-hill-and-beyond\">\u003cem>From the Hill and Beyond\u003c/em> \u003c/a>series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seneferu pushed his mother to pursue her art, but she was clear: Creating was \u003cem>his\u003c/em> thing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I really started out on a mission to prove to my mom that [art] could be something valuable to get into,” Seneferu tells me. As his work grew, so did his goals. “I wanted to use my art to show that I can defy gravity,” he says — metaphorically referencing economic disparities, food deserts, traumatic experiences and “white supremacy across the board.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Self-taught as an artist, the young Seneferu bounced between a dozen elementary schools and a handful of middle schools before graduating high school from McAteer School of the Arts. As a young adult, Seneferu worked with the organizer Ms. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Julia-Middleton-leader-of-youth-in-Hunters-2650605.php\">Julia “Aunt Bea” Middleton\u003c/a> and taught art to kids at tenant association meetings around the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around that time, he saw a mural that changed his artistic trajectory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://deweycrumpler.com/\">Dewey Crumpler\u003c/a> was working on this mural called \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmuralarts.com/mural/270.html#\">\u003cem>The Fire Next Time\u003c/em>,\u003c/a>” recalls Seneferu. It was based on James Baldwin’s book of the same name, as well as Baldwin’s San Francisco-based documentary film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4sjoomxSa8\">Take This Hammer\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “When the youngsters were saying ‘Man, you know the issues in San Francisco are even worse than the south,’” says Seneferu.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It opened Seneferu’s eyes to what art could achieve. Crumpler, along with the late painter and community pillar \u003ca href=\"https://www.shipyardartists.com/artist/joesam/\">JoeSam\u003c/a>, became a mentor to Seneferu. (For this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/\">Black Arts Week\u003c/a>, Crumpler will open his first major solo museum exhibition in nearly two decades, \u003ca href=\"https://nexus2026a.sched.com/event/2QyY2/dewey-crumpler-sonic-lineages?iframe=no\">\u003cem>Sonic Lineages\u003c/em>\u003c/a> at the Museum of the African Diaspora.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"An African American man in a brown outfit panting a giant colorful mural.\" class=\"wp-image-13994148\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-2000x2667.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6634-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist at work: a glimpse inside of Malik Seneferu’s studio. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his studio, Seneferu walks around the many supplies, splotches of paint and canvases to show me a series in progress called \u003cem>Forever Fourteen\u003c/em>. In his long locs and brown monotone outfit, he explains that the series traces tragic instances, at 11-year intervals, from African-American history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He starts with 1933, when Marcus Garvey stopped publishing his newspaper, \u003cem>The Negro World\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And in 1944, we got \u003ca href=\"https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/remembering-the-execution-of-14-year-old-george-stinney-80-years-later\">George Stinney\u003c/a>,” Seneferu tells me, referring to the 14 year-old African American boy who was executed after being wrongfully convicted of killing two white girls in South Carolina. “It was really a big deal,” says Seneferu. “They tried to sweep it under the rug. We didn’t allow it to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A painting of a stoic looking Black young woman.\" class=\"wp-image-13994288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Latasha-Harlins-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malik Seneferu, Latasha Harlins, 2022. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1955, the murder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/murder-of-emmett-till/\">Emmett Till\u003c/a>, a 14 year-old African American boy who was killed by two white men after he allegedly whistled at a white girl, shocked the nation. “And that kicked off the civil rights movement,” says Seneferu. Eleven years later, in 1966, teenaged \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/Hunters_Point_Uprising\">Matthew Johnson, Jr\u003c/a>. was killed by San Francisco Police in Hunters Point, inspiring an uprising.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1977, hip-hop started growing out of inner-city neighborhoods, and 11 years later the crack cocaine epidemic devastated those same Black communities. The series ends with a piece dedicated to 15 year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095444468/storycorps-remembering-15-year-old-latasha-harlins\">Latasha Harlins\u003c/a>, who was shot and killed by a storeowner in 1991.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The series encompasses many Seneferu trademarks; it encapsulates key aspects of 20th century Black history while illustrating instances that’ve informed his worldview.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Having grown up with an artistic mother and a stepfather who was a gunnery sergeant in the Marines during the Vietnam War, he’s learned to speak through painting as a second artistic language. His first artistic language was hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A table full of small painted art pieces.\" class=\"wp-image-13994289\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_6621-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A table full of Malike Seneferu’s work. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In 1988,” he says, “I was about a couple of blocks away from here, I was rapping at the time.” He started as a beatboxer, and soon learned to use his deep voice to deliver his lyrics. “I really had something I wanted to say, and I wanted it to be heard,” Seneferu tells me. “I found that the best way I could do that is in my painting,” he says, and in a way, “I’m still rapping.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first piece in the \u003cem>Forever Fourteen \u003c/em>series, an image dedicated to George Stinney, is on permanent display at the \u003ca href=\"https://thehubinsf.org/\">Sunnydale Hub\u003c/a>. Seneferu plans on completing the series with a portrait in the spirit of Matthew Johnson, Jr. next year. In the meantime, he’s juggling multiple projects as usual, ranging from environmental advocacy to economic education, all done through the visual arts and an innovative mindset.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A lot of the things I do are strictly from my imagination, because it’s really defiance,” Seneferu tells me. “To be creative is to defy annihilation. That’s why I’ll always remain creative.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Malik Seneferu will also participate in the Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios open studios event on Oct. 17 and 18 at the Hunters Point Shipyard (451 Galvez Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124).\u003c/em> \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shipyard-open-studios-fall-2026-registration-1992234233221?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&sg=6ebd4af823122ca2a076762936f3f5be642a0fc6087d942b690ea23370a12f69b0e61ce80cef0a8b67b1b3aba3869b58a11565fb11670033e88d4aa2a62d9df530fbd95445996d453ac082a7\">Check here for tickets and more information\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "stained-glass-garden-berkeley-50-year-anniversary-party",
"title": "Berkeley’s Stained Glass Garden to Celebrate 50 Years of Art",
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"headTitle": "Berkeley’s Stained Glass Garden to Celebrate 50 Years of Art | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>West Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/\">Stained Glass Garden\u003c/a> is an active community hub built on artistic expression. Fifty years after opening its doors, in many ways, the glassmaking studio and gallery is a mosaic in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The venue rents studio space for making fused glass panels and glass lampshades. The organization sells supplies to artists, holds classes for students and, in their gallery, showcases the works of more than 100 local glassmakers. “Many of whom got their start in our classes at some point in time,” says Julie Orchard, Stained Glass Garden owner.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The space is open daily, welcoming seasoned professionals, recent retirees and new visitors influenced by Instagram. “There’s a whole new generation of young folks coming out and creating with glass,” says Orchard, who also hosts many longtime glassmakers. “An hour ago I was with a someone who has been our customer for all 50 years. It’s just a wonderful, unique place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The range of artists who find peace in glasswork will be present on Sunday, Sept. 20, as \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/blogs/news/50th\">Stained Glass Garden celebrates its 50th birthday\u003c/a> with a block party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1706\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A display of items made of stained glass, including a colorful lamp.\" class=\"wp-image-13993958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-scaled.jpg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stained glass lamp shades are one of many items artists create at Stained Glass Garden in Berkeley. (Kelly Sullivan)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The event, which includes a community mosaic project and works from students over the past half-century, will take place in Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.fourthstreet.com/alllist\">Fourth Street\u003c/a> shopping district. The organization has called the area home long before it turned into the bustling upscale neighborhood it is today, with a Sur la Table, Sephora and Herman Miller outlet all a short walk away.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We were the first store down here,” says Orchard of what was then a small home-studio, founded in 1976 by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/glassartmosaics/\">Joan McLean\u003c/a>. Orchard first joined Stained Glass Garden in 2004 and soon “fell in love with glass and all of its aspects,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, her glasswork community extends far beyond the shop. “I actually had a student in the delivery room with me when I was having my first child,” Orchard tells me, “and a different student was the pediatrician the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The work itself extends beyond the shop’s walls as well, and can be seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgqdR_IVQj/\">throughout the region\u003c/a>. One of the company’s instructors was a part of the team that recently restored the glass at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. In the Bay Area, “if you look at a stained glass window in somebody’s house,” she says, “it’s probably from Stained Glass Garden.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When McLean semi-retired in 2008, Orchard took over the store. “She just was a great mentor, and gave me complete freedom to build the store as I saw fit,” Orchard recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McLean is officially stepping away this year, making this weekend’s event a bit of a retirement party, as well as an opportunity to see Stained Glass Garden’s next chapter, says Orchard.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, the torch could get passed down in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My 11-year-old daughter,” Orchard says, “just designed, cut, ground and soldered her very first stained glass panel just about two weeks ago.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stained Glass Garden’s 50th anniversary party is Sunday Sept. 20 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Stained Glass Garden (1800 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710). \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/blogs/news/50th\">Check here for more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>West Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/\">Stained Glass Garden\u003c/a> is an active community hub built on artistic expression. Fifty years after opening its doors, in many ways, the glassmaking studio and gallery is a mosaic in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The venue rents studio space for making fused glass panels and glass lampshades. The organization sells supplies to artists, holds classes for students and, in their gallery, showcases the works of more than 100 local glassmakers. “Many of whom got their start in our classes at some point in time,” says Julie Orchard, Stained Glass Garden owner.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The venue rents studio space for making fused glass panels and glass lampshades. The organization sells supplies to artists, holds classes for students and, in their gallery, showcases the works of more than 100 local glassmakers. “Many of whom got their start in our classes at some point in time,” says Julie Orchard, Stained Glass Garden owner.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The space is open daily, welcoming seasoned professionals, recent retirees and new visitors influenced by Instagram. “There’s a whole new generation of young folks coming out and creating with glass,” says Orchard, who also hosts many longtime glassmakers. “An hour ago I was with a someone who has been our customer for all 50 years. It’s just a wonderful, unique place.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The event, which includes a community mosaic project and works from students over the past half-century, will take place in Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.fourthstreet.com/alllist\">Fourth Street\u003c/a> shopping district. The organization has called the area home long before it turned into the bustling upscale neighborhood it is today, with a Sur la Table, Sephora and Herman Miller outlet all a short walk away.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We were the first store down here,” says Orchard of what was then a small home-studio, founded in 1976 by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/glassartmosaics/\">Joan McLean\u003c/a>. Orchard first joined Stained Glass Garden in 2004 and soon “fell in love with glass and all of its aspects,” she says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, her glasswork community extends far beyond the shop. “I actually had a student in the delivery room with me when I was having my first child,” Orchard tells me, “and a different student was the pediatrician the next day.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The work itself extends beyond the shop’s walls as well, and can be seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgqdR_IVQj/\">throughout the region\u003c/a>. One of the company’s instructors was a part of the team that recently restored the glass at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. In the Bay Area, “if you look at a stained glass window in somebody’s house,” she says, “it’s probably from Stained Glass Garden.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When McLean semi-retired in 2008, Orchard took over the store. “She just was a great mentor, and gave me complete freedom to build the store as I saw fit,” Orchard recalls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McLean is officially stepping away this year, making this weekend’s event a bit of a retirement party, as well as an opportunity to see Stained Glass Garden’s next chapter, says Orchard.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My 11-year-old daughter,” Orchard says, “just designed, cut, ground and soldered her very first stained glass panel just about two weeks ago.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stained Glass Garden’s 50th anniversary party is Sunday Sept. 20 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Stained Glass Garden (1800 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710). \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/blogs/news/50th\">Check here for more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Founded in 1976, the store and studio rental space celebrates its half-decade of glassmaking with a block party.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>West Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/\">Stained Glass Garden\u003c/a> is an active community hub built on artistic expression. Fifty years after opening its doors, in many ways, the glassmaking studio and gallery is a mosaic in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The venue rents studio space for making fused glass panels and glass lampshades. The organization sells supplies to artists, holds classes for students and, in their gallery, showcases the works of more than 100 local glassmakers. “Many of whom got their start in our classes at some point in time,” says Julie Orchard, Stained Glass Garden owner.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The space is open daily, welcoming seasoned professionals, recent retirees and new visitors influenced by Instagram. “There’s a whole new generation of young folks coming out and creating with glass,” says Orchard, who also hosts many longtime glassmakers. “An hour ago I was with a someone who has been our customer for all 50 years. It’s just a wonderful, unique place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The range of artists who find peace in glasswork will be present on Sunday, Sept. 20, as \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/blogs/news/50th\">Stained Glass Garden celebrates its 50th birthday\u003c/a> with a block party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1706\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A display of items made of stained glass, including a colorful lamp.\" class=\"wp-image-13993958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-scaled.jpg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_0144-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stained glass lamp shades are one of many items artists create at Stained Glass Garden in Berkeley. (Kelly Sullivan)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The event, which includes a community mosaic project and works from students over the past half-century, will take place in Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.fourthstreet.com/alllist\">Fourth Street\u003c/a> shopping district. The organization has called the area home long before it turned into the bustling upscale neighborhood it is today, with a Sur la Table, Sephora and Herman Miller outlet all a short walk away.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We were the first store down here,” says Orchard of what was then a small home-studio, founded in 1976 by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/glassartmosaics/\">Joan McLean\u003c/a>. Orchard first joined Stained Glass Garden in 2004 and soon “fell in love with glass and all of its aspects,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, her glasswork community extends far beyond the shop. “I actually had a student in the delivery room with me when I was having my first child,” Orchard tells me, “and a different student was the pediatrician the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The work itself extends beyond the shop’s walls as well, and can be seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgqdR_IVQj/\">throughout the region\u003c/a>. One of the company’s instructors was a part of the team that recently restored the glass at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. In the Bay Area, “if you look at a stained glass window in somebody’s house,” she says, “it’s probably from Stained Glass Garden.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When McLean semi-retired in 2008, Orchard took over the store. “She just was a great mentor, and gave me complete freedom to build the store as I saw fit,” Orchard recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McLean is officially stepping away this year, making this weekend’s event a bit of a retirement party, as well as an opportunity to see Stained Glass Garden’s next chapter, says Orchard.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, the torch could get passed down in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My 11-year-old daughter,” Orchard says, “just designed, cut, ground and soldered her very first stained glass panel just about two weeks ago.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stained Glass Garden’s 50th anniversary party is Sunday Sept. 20 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Stained Glass Garden (1800 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710). \u003ca href=\"https://stainedglassgarden.com/blogs/news/50th\">Check here for more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "young-bari-bosslife-big-spence-thats-a-playa",
"title": "How Young Bari and BossLife Big Spence’s ‘That's a Playa’ Took Over the Bay",
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"headTitle": "How Young Bari and BossLife Big Spence’s ‘That’s a Playa’ Took Over the Bay | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Our current era is full of songs that become hits after going viral on TikTok. Meanwhile, since August of 2025, Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bosslifebigspence/\">BossLife Big Spence\u003c/a> and San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/y0ungbari/?hl=en\">Young Bari\u003c/a> have worked their hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOg-IMiT-oU\">That’s a Playa\u003c/a>” like it’s the old days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ve done local radio hits and traveled for features on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpHRNcxgBQM\">national video platforms\u003c/a>. They’ve made made guest appearances at major events, like E-40’s recent set at the Oakland Arena and a Levi’s Super Bowl event in February. They even tapped rap legends \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRtSJHRx1YE\">Richie Rich, Too Short and E-40\u003c/a> for a remix, extending the song’s longevity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, on Sept. 7, Spence and Bari are set to headline the second stage at the 14th annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991284/hiero-day-2026-san-francisco-lineup-expansion-la-canada\">Hiero Day\u003c/a>, closing out a show with a lineup of talent that includes Mereba, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Killer Mike.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While many artists typically drop songs and then pray the algorithm helps them catch a wave, Spence and Bari say taking a single track and going on a “campaign” with it is the reason for its success. They even got a special shout out from one of the most popular comedians of the past two decades, Mike Epps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DXHe0AzgaVO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It all started with a video of Epps responding to a question about which artists he’s listening to right now. Between mentions of Kendrick Lamar and Fetty P. Franklin,”It’s a young dude out of the Bay right now named Young Bari,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/watch/mike-epps-odell-beckham-jr-kendrick-lamar-12-04-2025/\">Epps says\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I seen that,” Bari tells me, “I was like, ‘I gotta make a clip of this instantly and post it, so people can know we \u003cem>moving\u003c/em> right now!'”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Weeks later, when Epps was scheduled to come to the Bay for a show at Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Concord with an afterparty at Oakland’s M2 lounge, he told Spence, “Bro, we finna go pull up on Mike.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not only did they meet the award-winning actor and former host of HBO’s \u003cem>Def Comedy Jam\u003c/em>, they performed that same night. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m talking about a real campaign, bro,” Bari says, explaining their grind over the past year. “We was running it up,” he exclaims. “Whatever we had to do to get the record out, we did it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOg-IMiT-oU\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Spence, who made the original version of the song while working with producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/payseanprod/\">PAY$EAN\u003c/a>, points out an important aspect of their promotion: it’s all been out of their own pockets. “We really put our all into the record,” says Spence, “and I think the results you see are the results of that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though they’re both Bay Area-raised students of hip-hop, the two artists come from different eras.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Spence, who started as a producer before stepping to the mic, has made his mark with tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brbOTU5TiKY\">The Deal\u003c/a>”by DaBoii (feat. Drakeo the Ruler) and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuHpLZRRYIk\">Pimpin’ Like Kenny Red\u003c/a>” by Too Short (feat. Larry June). “I had a little success with my first single that I ever dropped, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5i4Sa2a7k4\">10K,\u003c/a>’” he says. “But the success of ‘That’s a Playa’ is totally different.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That kind of success is a new experience for Spence. But Bari has been here before.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a 10th grader at Berkeley High School, Spence saw Bari perform his classic track, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JjvzlpNiH0&list=RD8JjvzlpNiH0&start_radio=1\">So Mobby\u003c/a>.” At the time, Spence hadn’t been to many concerts, and “definitely no rap concerts,” he says. “So when [Bari] did that, I was just so impacted. I was like, ‘Man, one day I got to have it.'”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A recently shared \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcSB_hCt_d2/\">video of Bari performing in 2009 \u003c/a>shows just how lit audiences would get when “So Mobby” would come kabobulating through the speakers. Referenced in the 2012 \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-iC-irllqY&list=RDg-iC-irllqY&start_radio=1\">E-40 track “Function”\u003c/a> (feat. YG, Problem and IamSu!), the song still holds its weight in the Bay Area hall of game. And Bari’s stage show is partially to credit for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the turf dancing era,” he says. “If you was in the party being a wallflower, you getting cooked, you feel me?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bari, who recently released the P-Lo-produced song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkejTZUV1-U\">IN TRAFFIC\u003c/a>” (feat. Keak Da Sneak and DB Tha General) as well as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPE-8ide9Ig\">MOBBY MIYAZAKI\u003c/a>” (a re-interpolation of “So Mobby” with Seiji Oda), possesses dance moves that entertain his peers and simultaneously pay homage to his Frisco roots.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Get Low,” he says, “that’s a neighborhood dance. My uncle \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVMSAkfEn99/\">J.D. Walker made that dance\u003c/a>.” The key to hitting The Get Low, says Bari, is energy. “It’s a feeling.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it’s that same energy that led him to working with Big Spence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three men in a recording studio, posing for a photo.\" class=\"wp-image-13993588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rapper Young Bari, producer Pay$ean and rapper-producer BossLife Big Spence pose for a photo at the On The Radar studio in New York. (Courtesy of BossLife Big Spence)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While visiting the producer and going through beats, Spence played an unfinished version of “That’s a Playa.” Bari instantly felt it. “I seen the vision,” he says. “I heard the energy of it and I was like this is \u003cem>that sound\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Between the mobby beat, Spence’s flossy lyrics and catchy hook, Bari could tell Spence was having fun in the studio. That’s the most important ingredient in making a song to dance to, Bari says: freeing yourself, and being unbothered by thoughts of going viral, or worry of any negative critiques. “You gotta cat off in the booth,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And, clearly, after you’re done having fun recording, you go to work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With 12 months under their belts of pushing the song, their Hiero Day performance is big. While Bari has rocked the festival’s stage multiple times, Spence has only done so as a DJ. And for him, this year’s show is deeper than rap, as his late father was a huge fan of Hieroglyphics and Souls of Mischief.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Everywhere I go I take him with me; every stage I’m on,” says Spence in respect to his father. “Plus I was born in ’93. So ‘93 ’til Infinity,’ that’s my jam.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>BossLife Big Spence and Young Bari perform Monday, Sept. 7, as part of Hiero Day at The Midway (900 Marin St, San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Our current era is full of songs that become hits after going viral on TikTok. Meanwhile, since August of 2025, Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bosslifebigspence/\">BossLife Big Spence\u003c/a> and San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/y0ungbari/?hl=en\">Young Bari\u003c/a> have worked their hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOg-IMiT-oU\">That’s a Playa\u003c/a>” like it’s the old days.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It all started with a video of Epps responding to a question about which artists he’s listening to right now. Between mentions of Kendrick Lamar and Fetty P. Franklin,”It’s a young dude out of the Bay right now named Young Bari,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/watch/mike-epps-odell-beckham-jr-kendrick-lamar-12-04-2025/\">Epps says\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I seen that,” Bari tells me, “I was like, ‘I gotta make a clip of this instantly and post it, so people can know we \u003cem>moving\u003c/em> right now!'”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When I seen that,” Bari tells me, “I was like, ‘I gotta make a clip of this instantly and post it, so people can know we \u003cem>moving\u003c/em> right now!'”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Weeks later, when Epps was scheduled to come to the Bay for a show at Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Concord with an afterparty at Oakland’s M2 lounge, he told Spence, “Bro, we finna go pull up on Mike.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Weeks later, when Epps was scheduled to come to the Bay for a show at Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Concord with an afterparty at Oakland’s M2 lounge, he told Spence, “Bro, we finna go pull up on Mike.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not only did they meet the award-winning actor and former host of HBO’s \u003cem>Def Comedy Jam\u003c/em>, they performed that same night. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m talking about a real campaign, bro,” Bari says, explaining their grind over the past year. “We was running it up,” he exclaims. “Whatever we had to do to get the record out, we did it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m talking about a real campaign, bro,” Bari says, explaining their grind over the past year. “We was running it up,” he exclaims. “Whatever we had to do to get the record out, we did it.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Spence, who made the original version of the song while working with producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/payseanprod/\">PAY$EAN\u003c/a>, points out an important aspect of their promotion: it’s all been out of their own pockets. “We really put our all into the record,” says Spence, “and I think the results you see are the results of that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though they’re both Bay Area-raised students of hip-hop, the two artists come from different eras.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Spence, who started as a producer before stepping to the mic, has made his mark with tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brbOTU5TiKY\">The Deal\u003c/a>”by DaBoii (feat. Drakeo the Ruler) and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuHpLZRRYIk\">Pimpin’ Like Kenny Red\u003c/a>” by Too Short (feat. Larry June). “I had a little success with my first single that I ever dropped, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5i4Sa2a7k4\">10K,\u003c/a>’” he says. “But the success of ‘That’s a Playa’ is totally different.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Spence, who started as a producer before stepping to the mic, has made his mark with tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brbOTU5TiKY\">The Deal\u003c/a>”by DaBoii (feat. Drakeo the Ruler) and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuHpLZRRYIk\">Pimpin’ Like Kenny Red\u003c/a>” by Too Short (feat. Larry June). “I had a little success with my first single that I ever dropped, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5i4Sa2a7k4\">10K,\u003c/a>’” he says. “But the success of ‘That’s a Playa’ is totally different.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That kind of success is a new experience for Spence. But Bari has been here before.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a 10th grader at Berkeley High School, Spence saw Bari perform his classic track, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JjvzlpNiH0&list=RD8JjvzlpNiH0&start_radio=1\">So Mobby\u003c/a>.” At the time, Spence hadn’t been to many concerts, and “definitely no rap concerts,” he says. “So when [Bari] did that, I was just so impacted. I was like, ‘Man, one day I got to have it.'”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As a 10th grader at Berkeley High School, Spence saw Bari perform his classic track, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JjvzlpNiH0&list=RD8JjvzlpNiH0&start_radio=1\">So Mobby\u003c/a>.” At the time, Spence hadn’t been to many concerts, and “definitely no rap concerts,” he says. “So when [Bari] did that, I was just so impacted. I was like, ‘Man, one day I got to have it.'”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A recently shared \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcSB_hCt_d2/\">video of Bari performing in 2009 \u003c/a>shows just how lit audiences would get when “So Mobby” would come kabobulating through the speakers. Referenced in the 2012 \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-iC-irllqY&list=RDg-iC-irllqY&start_radio=1\">E-40 track “Function”\u003c/a> (feat. YG, Problem and IamSu!), the song still holds its weight in the Bay Area hall of game. And Bari’s stage show is partially to credit for it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A recently shared \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcSB_hCt_d2/\">video of Bari performing in 2009 \u003c/a>shows just how lit audiences would get when “So Mobby” would come kabobulating through the speakers. Referenced in the 2012 \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-iC-irllqY&list=RDg-iC-irllqY&start_radio=1\">E-40 track “Function”\u003c/a> (feat. YG, Problem and IamSu!), the song still holds its weight in the Bay Area hall of game. And Bari’s stage show is partially to credit for it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the turf dancing era,” he says. “If you was in the party being a wallflower, you getting cooked, you feel me?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bari, who recently released the P-Lo-produced song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkejTZUV1-U\">IN TRAFFIC\u003c/a>” (feat. Keak Da Sneak and DB Tha General) as well as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPE-8ide9Ig\">MOBBY MIYAZAKI\u003c/a>” (a re-interpolation of “So Mobby” with Seiji Oda), possesses dance moves that entertain his peers and simultaneously pay homage to his Frisco roots.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bari, who recently released the P-Lo-produced song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkejTZUV1-U\">IN TRAFFIC\u003c/a>” (feat. Keak Da Sneak and DB Tha General) as well as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPE-8ide9Ig\">MOBBY MIYAZAKI\u003c/a>” (a re-interpolation of “So Mobby” with Seiji Oda), possesses dance moves that entertain his peers and simultaneously pay homage to his Frisco roots.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Get Low,” he says, “that’s a neighborhood dance. My uncle \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVMSAkfEn99/\">J.D. Walker made that dance\u003c/a>.” The key to hitting The Get Low, says Bari, is energy. “It’s a feeling.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The Get Low,” he says, “that’s a neighborhood dance. My uncle \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVMSAkfEn99/\">J.D. Walker made that dance\u003c/a>.” The key to hitting The Get Low, says Bari, is energy. “It’s a feeling.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And it’s that same energy that led him to working with Big Spence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three men in a recording studio, posing for a photo.\" class=\"wp-image-13993588\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rapper Young Bari, producer Pay$ean and rapper-producer BossLife Big Spence pose for a photo at the On The Radar studio in New York. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of BossLife Big Spence)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While visiting the producer and going through beats, Spence played an unfinished version of “That’s a Playa.” Bari instantly felt it. “I seen the vision,” he says. “I heard the energy of it and I was like this is \u003cem>that sound\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Between the mobby beat, Spence’s flossy lyrics and catchy hook, Bari could tell Spence was having fun in the studio. That’s the most important ingredient in making a song to dance to, Bari says: freeing yourself, and being unbothered by thoughts of going viral, or worry of any negative critiques. “You gotta cat off in the booth,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Between the mobby beat, Spence’s flossy lyrics and catchy hook, Bari could tell Spence was having fun in the studio. That’s the most important ingredient in making a song to dance to, Bari says: freeing yourself, and being unbothered by thoughts of going viral, or worry of any negative critiques. “You gotta cat off in the booth,” he says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And, clearly, after you’re done having fun recording, you go to work.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With 12 months under their belts of pushing the song, their Hiero Day performance is big. While Bari has rocked the festival’s stage multiple times, Spence has only done so as a DJ. And for him, this year’s show is deeper than rap, as his late father was a huge fan of Hieroglyphics and Souls of Mischief.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With 12 months under their belts of pushing the song, their Hiero Day performance is big. While Bari has rocked the festival’s stage multiple times, Spence has only done so as a DJ. And for him, this year’s show is deeper than rap, as his late father was a huge fan of Hieroglyphics and Souls of Mischief.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Everywhere I go I take him with me; every stage I’m on,” says Spence in respect to his father. “Plus I was born in ’93. So ‘93 ’til Infinity,’ that’s my jam.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>BossLife Big Spence and Young Bari perform Monday, Sept. 7, as part of Hiero Day at The Midway (900 Marin St, San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After a 12-month campaign of working the song into a hit, the duo headlines the second stage at Hiero Day.",
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"title": "How Young Bari and BossLife Big Spence’s ‘That's a Playa’ Took Over the Bay | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Our current era is full of songs that become hits after going viral on TikTok. Meanwhile, since August of 2025, Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bosslifebigspence/\">BossLife Big Spence\u003c/a> and San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/y0ungbari/?hl=en\">Young Bari\u003c/a> have worked their hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOg-IMiT-oU\">That’s a Playa\u003c/a>” like it’s the old days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ve done local radio hits and traveled for features on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpHRNcxgBQM\">national video platforms\u003c/a>. They’ve made made guest appearances at major events, like E-40’s recent set at the Oakland Arena and a Levi’s Super Bowl event in February. They even tapped rap legends \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRtSJHRx1YE\">Richie Rich, Too Short and E-40\u003c/a> for a remix, extending the song’s longevity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, on Sept. 7, Spence and Bari are set to headline the second stage at the 14th annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991284/hiero-day-2026-san-francisco-lineup-expansion-la-canada\">Hiero Day\u003c/a>, closing out a show with a lineup of talent that includes Mereba, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Killer Mike.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While many artists typically drop songs and then pray the algorithm helps them catch a wave, Spence and Bari say taking a single track and going on a “campaign” with it is the reason for its success. They even got a special shout out from one of the most popular comedians of the past two decades, Mike Epps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It all started with a video of Epps responding to a question about which artists he’s listening to right now. Between mentions of Kendrick Lamar and Fetty P. Franklin,”It’s a young dude out of the Bay right now named Young Bari,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/watch/mike-epps-odell-beckham-jr-kendrick-lamar-12-04-2025/\">Epps says\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I seen that,” Bari tells me, “I was like, ‘I gotta make a clip of this instantly and post it, so people can know we \u003cem>moving\u003c/em> right now!'”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Weeks later, when Epps was scheduled to come to the Bay for a show at Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Concord with an afterparty at Oakland’s M2 lounge, he told Spence, “Bro, we finna go pull up on Mike.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not only did they meet the award-winning actor and former host of HBO’s \u003cem>Def Comedy Jam\u003c/em>, they performed that same night. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m talking about a real campaign, bro,” Bari says, explaining their grind over the past year. “We was running it up,” he exclaims. “Whatever we had to do to get the record out, we did it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/tOg-IMiT-oU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/tOg-IMiT-oU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Spence, who made the original version of the song while working with producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/payseanprod/\">PAY$EAN\u003c/a>, points out an important aspect of their promotion: it’s all been out of their own pockets. “We really put our all into the record,” says Spence, “and I think the results you see are the results of that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though they’re both Bay Area-raised students of hip-hop, the two artists come from different eras.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Spence, who started as a producer before stepping to the mic, has made his mark with tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brbOTU5TiKY\">The Deal\u003c/a>”by DaBoii (feat. Drakeo the Ruler) and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuHpLZRRYIk\">Pimpin’ Like Kenny Red\u003c/a>” by Too Short (feat. Larry June). “I had a little success with my first single that I ever dropped, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5i4Sa2a7k4\">10K,\u003c/a>’” he says. “But the success of ‘That’s a Playa’ is totally different.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That kind of success is a new experience for Spence. But Bari has been here before.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a 10th grader at Berkeley High School, Spence saw Bari perform his classic track, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JjvzlpNiH0&list=RD8JjvzlpNiH0&start_radio=1\">So Mobby\u003c/a>.” At the time, Spence hadn’t been to many concerts, and “definitely no rap concerts,” he says. “So when [Bari] did that, I was just so impacted. I was like, ‘Man, one day I got to have it.'”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A recently shared \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcSB_hCt_d2/\">video of Bari performing in 2009 \u003c/a>shows just how lit audiences would get when “So Mobby” would come kabobulating through the speakers. Referenced in the 2012 \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-iC-irllqY&list=RDg-iC-irllqY&start_radio=1\">E-40 track “Function”\u003c/a> (feat. YG, Problem and IamSu!), the song still holds its weight in the Bay Area hall of game. And Bari’s stage show is partially to credit for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the turf dancing era,” he says. “If you was in the party being a wallflower, you getting cooked, you feel me?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bari, who recently released the P-Lo-produced song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkejTZUV1-U\">IN TRAFFIC\u003c/a>” (feat. Keak Da Sneak and DB Tha General) as well as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPE-8ide9Ig\">MOBBY MIYAZAKI\u003c/a>” (a re-interpolation of “So Mobby” with Seiji Oda), possesses dance moves that entertain his peers and simultaneously pay homage to his Frisco roots.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Get Low,” he says, “that’s a neighborhood dance. My uncle \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVMSAkfEn99/\">J.D. Walker made that dance\u003c/a>.” The key to hitting The Get Low, says Bari, is energy. “It’s a feeling.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it’s that same energy that led him to working with Big Spence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three men in a recording studio, posing for a photo.\" class=\"wp-image-13993588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Young-Bari-Payean-and-BossLife-Big-Spence-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rapper Young Bari, producer Pay$ean and rapper-producer BossLife Big Spence pose for a photo at the On The Radar studio in New York. (Courtesy of BossLife Big Spence)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While visiting the producer and going through beats, Spence played an unfinished version of “That’s a Playa.” Bari instantly felt it. “I seen the vision,” he says. “I heard the energy of it and I was like this is \u003cem>that sound\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Between the mobby beat, Spence’s flossy lyrics and catchy hook, Bari could tell Spence was having fun in the studio. That’s the most important ingredient in making a song to dance to, Bari says: freeing yourself, and being unbothered by thoughts of going viral, or worry of any negative critiques. “You gotta cat off in the booth,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And, clearly, after you’re done having fun recording, you go to work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With 12 months under their belts of pushing the song, their Hiero Day performance is big. While Bari has rocked the festival’s stage multiple times, Spence has only done so as a DJ. And for him, this year’s show is deeper than rap, as his late father was a huge fan of Hieroglyphics and Souls of Mischief.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Everywhere I go I take him with me; every stage I’m on,” says Spence in respect to his father. “Plus I was born in ’93. So ‘93 ’til Infinity,’ that’s my jam.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>BossLife Big Spence and Young Bari perform Monday, Sept. 7, as part of Hiero Day at The Midway (900 Marin St, San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "colin-kaepernick-memoir-the-perilous-fight-book-tour-berkeley",
"title": "Colin Kaepernick Is Coming to the East Bay With a New Memoir",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ten year ago, before a preseason football game against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 1, 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/colin-kaepernick\">Colin Kaepernick\u003c/a> decided to kneel during pregame performances of “The Star Spangled Banner.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fed up with the extrajudicial killings of Black people in this country, Kaepernick took a knee and also took a stand. While it brought much-needed attention to an issue plaguing our society, it also drastically changed the course of Kaepernick’s career. Months later, the former Super Bowl quarterback was effectively pushed out of the NFL for his weekly quiet protest; he would later \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/15/695213705/colin-kaepernick-reaches-agreement-with-the-nfl-his-lawyer-says\">successfully sue the NFL for collusion\u003c/a>, alleging that teams blackballed him and former teammate Eric Reid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a decade after first quietly taking a knee in protest, Kaepernick is speaking about his journey, as he shares his new book with the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13908962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eli Harold (from left), Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 6, 2016, in Santa Clara. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group will open its doors, allowing audience members a chance to hear \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kaepernick discuss\u003c/a> his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Hachette Book Group). Each attendee will also receive a signed copy of the book, which covers Kaepernick’s upbringing in Turlock, his experience as a professional athlete, and how he found footing in the world of activism.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaepernick will be in conversation with comedian and award-winning host \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/w-kamau-bell\">W. Kamau Bell\u003c/a>; they’ll be joined that evening by appearances from the former head of the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940221/black-panthers-oakland-community-school-50th-anniversary\">Ericka Huggins\u003c/a> and Black Panther Party illustrator \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984778/emory-douglas-in-our-lifetime-aaacc-san-francisco\">Emory Douglas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event is backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nab2.org/\">National Association of Black Bookstores\u003c/a> and hosted by Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://marcusbooks.com/\">Marcus Books\u003c/a>. The collaboration between Kaepernick, one of the most high-profile activists of the last decade; the \u003ca href=\"https://blackrepertorygroup.com/\">Black Repertory Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1964 as one of the longest-running African American theatrical organizations; and Marcus Books, the United States’ oldest bookstore specializing in African American literature, is a rare confluence of greats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignright size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1695\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Colin Kaepernick's book 'The Perilous Fight'.\" class=\"wp-image-13993330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg 1695w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-1017x1536.jpg 1017w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-1356x2048.jpg 1356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1695px) 100vw, 1695px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colin Kaepernick’s book ‘The Perilous Fight’ publishes Sept. 15, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>It is also, according to Marcus Books owner Blanche Richardson, “the direct result of the work of the National Association of Black Bookstores (NAB2).”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Richardson gives credit to NAB2, which is only in its second year of existence, for coordinating Kaepernick’s book tour with the publisher. “[NAB2] demands equity in sending Black authors to Black bookstores where their fan bases are,” writes Richardson.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaepernick has signed thousands of bookplates for this tour, so all ticket-holders will receive signed books. There will also be Q&A session after the conversation with W. Kamau Bell. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“All are welcome to have their pictures taken with the author,” Richardson adds, noting that VIP tickets have sold out and regular tickets are selling fast. “We will be adding a number of lesser-priced tickets for seats in the ‘overflow’ room once the $50 tickets are sold out.” (The overflow crowd will also receive signed books and be able to take photos.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaepernick’s rare public appearance outside of his foundation, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.knowyourrightscamp.org/\">Know Your Rights Camp,\u003c/a> is part of a book tour that will also stop at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-author-talk-tickets-1997911346620\">Guild Theater\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Sept. 21 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebellofla.org/events/writers-bloc-and-the-ebell-present-football-legend-colin-kaepernick\">Ebell Dining Room\u003c/a> in Los Angeles on Sept. 22.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Marcus Books regularly hosts convenings with authors and cultural figures. In the coming month they also have events with civil rights attorney and activist \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walter-riley-x-marcus-books-civil-rights-and-structural-attacks-tickets-1997521565775?aff=erelpanelorg\">Walter Riley \u003c/a>on Sept. 6, author \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/deborah-santana-x-marcus-books-loving-the-fire-tickets-1997526462421?aff=erelpanelorg\">Deborah Santana\u003c/a> on Sept. 20 and poet \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kevin-powell-w-kwc-complex-jazz-trio-x-marcus-books-tickets-1997528025095?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kevin Powell\u003c/a> (with KWC Complex Jazz Trio) on Sept. 26.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Colin Kaepernick discusses his book ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>’ at the Black Repertory Group Theater (3201 Adeline St., Berkeley) on Sept. 22, \u003cem>6–8 p.m\u003c/em>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Check here\u003c/a> for further information. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group will open its doors, allowing audience members a chance to hear \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kaepernick discuss\u003c/a> his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Hachette Book Group). Each attendee will also receive a signed copy of the book, which covers Kaepernick’s upbringing in Turlock, his experience as a professional athlete, and how he found footing in the world of activism.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group will open its doors, allowing audience members a chance to hear \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kaepernick discuss\u003c/a> his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Hachette Book Group). Each attendee will also receive a signed copy of the book, which covers Kaepernick’s upbringing in Turlock, his experience as a professional athlete, and how he found footing in the world of activism.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaepernick will be in conversation with comedian and award-winning host \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/w-kamau-bell\">W. Kamau Bell\u003c/a>; they’ll be joined that evening by appearances from the former head of the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940221/black-panthers-oakland-community-school-50th-anniversary\">Ericka Huggins\u003c/a> and Black Panther Party illustrator \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984778/emory-douglas-in-our-lifetime-aaacc-san-francisco\">Emory Douglas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kaepernick will be in conversation with comedian and award-winning host \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/w-kamau-bell\">W. Kamau Bell\u003c/a>; they’ll be joined that evening by appearances from the former head of the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940221/black-panthers-oakland-community-school-50th-anniversary\">Ericka Huggins\u003c/a> and Black Panther Party illustrator \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984778/emory-douglas-in-our-lifetime-aaacc-san-francisco\">Emory Douglas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The event is backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nab2.org/\">National Association of Black Bookstores\u003c/a> and hosted by Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://marcusbooks.com/\">Marcus Books\u003c/a>. The collaboration between Kaepernick, one of the most high-profile activists of the last decade; the \u003ca href=\"https://blackrepertorygroup.com/\">Black Repertory Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1964 as one of the longest-running African American theatrical organizations; and Marcus Books, the United States’ oldest bookstore specializing in African American literature, is a rare confluence of greats. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The event is backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nab2.org/\">National Association of Black Bookstores\u003c/a> and hosted by Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://marcusbooks.com/\">Marcus Books\u003c/a>. The collaboration between Kaepernick, one of the most high-profile activists of the last decade; the \u003ca href=\"https://blackrepertorygroup.com/\">Black Repertory Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1964 as one of the longest-running African American theatrical organizations; and Marcus Books, the United States’ oldest bookstore specializing in African American literature, is a rare confluence of greats. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Colin Kaepernick's book 'The Perilous Fight'.\" class=\"wp-image-13993330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg 1695w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-1017x1536.jpg 1017w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-1356x2048.jpg 1356w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colin Kaepernick’s book ‘The Perilous Fight’ publishes Sept. 15, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Colin Kaepernick's book 'The Perilous Fight'.\" class=\"wp-image-13993330\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colin Kaepernick’s book ‘The Perilous Fight’ publishes Sept. 15, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It is also, according to Marcus Books owner Blanche Richardson, “the direct result of the work of the National Association of Black Bookstores (NAB2).”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Richardson gives credit to NAB2, which is only in its second year of existence, for coordinating Kaepernick’s book tour with the publisher. “[NAB2] demands equity in sending Black authors to Black bookstores where their fan bases are,” writes Richardson.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Richardson gives credit to NAB2, which is only in its second year of existence, for coordinating Kaepernick’s book tour with the publisher. “[NAB2] demands equity in sending Black authors to Black bookstores where their fan bases are,” writes Richardson.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaepernick has signed thousands of bookplates for this tour, so all ticket-holders will receive signed books. There will also be Q&A session after the conversation with W. Kamau Bell. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kaepernick has signed thousands of bookplates for this tour, so all ticket-holders will receive signed books. There will also be Q&A session after the conversation with W. Kamau Bell. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“All are welcome to have their pictures taken with the author,” Richardson adds, noting that VIP tickets have sold out and regular tickets are selling fast. “We will be adding a number of lesser-priced tickets for seats in the ‘overflow’ room once the $50 tickets are sold out.” (The overflow crowd will also receive signed books and be able to take photos.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“All are welcome to have their pictures taken with the author,” Richardson adds, noting that VIP tickets have sold out and regular tickets are selling fast. “We will be adding a number of lesser-priced tickets for seats in the ‘overflow’ room once the $50 tickets are sold out.” (The overflow crowd will also receive signed books and be able to take photos.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaepernick’s rare public appearance outside of his foundation, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.knowyourrightscamp.org/\">Know Your Rights Camp,\u003c/a> is part of a book tour that will also stop at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-author-talk-tickets-1997911346620\">Guild Theater\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Sept. 21 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebellofla.org/events/writers-bloc-and-the-ebell-present-football-legend-colin-kaepernick\">Ebell Dining Room\u003c/a> in Los Angeles on Sept. 22.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kaepernick’s rare public appearance outside of his foundation, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.knowyourrightscamp.org/\">Know Your Rights Camp,\u003c/a> is part of a book tour that will also stop at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-author-talk-tickets-1997911346620\">Guild Theater\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Sept. 21 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebellofla.org/events/writers-bloc-and-the-ebell-present-football-legend-colin-kaepernick\">Ebell Dining Room\u003c/a> in Los Angeles on Sept. 22.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Marcus Books regularly hosts convenings with authors and cultural figures. In the coming month they also have events with civil rights attorney and activist \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walter-riley-x-marcus-books-civil-rights-and-structural-attacks-tickets-1997521565775?aff=erelpanelorg\">Walter Riley \u003c/a>on Sept. 6, author \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/deborah-santana-x-marcus-books-loving-the-fire-tickets-1997526462421?aff=erelpanelorg\">Deborah Santana\u003c/a> on Sept. 20 and poet \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kevin-powell-w-kwc-complex-jazz-trio-x-marcus-books-tickets-1997528025095?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kevin Powell\u003c/a> (with KWC Complex Jazz Trio) on Sept. 26.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Marcus Books regularly hosts convenings with authors and cultural figures. In the coming month they also have events with civil rights attorney and activist \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walter-riley-x-marcus-books-civil-rights-and-structural-attacks-tickets-1997521565775?aff=erelpanelorg\">Walter Riley \u003c/a>on Sept. 6, author \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/deborah-santana-x-marcus-books-loving-the-fire-tickets-1997526462421?aff=erelpanelorg\">Deborah Santana\u003c/a> on Sept. 20 and poet \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kevin-powell-w-kwc-complex-jazz-trio-x-marcus-books-tickets-1997528025095?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kevin Powell\u003c/a> (with KWC Complex Jazz Trio) on Sept. 26.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Colin Kaepernick discusses his book ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>’ at the Black Repertory Group Theater (3201 Adeline St., Berkeley) on Sept. 22, \u003cem>6–8 p.m\u003c/em>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Check here\u003c/a> for further information. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The author, activist and former NFL quarterback brings his new memoir, ‘The Perilous Fight’ to Berkeley. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ten year ago, before a preseason football game against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 1, 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/colin-kaepernick\">Colin Kaepernick\u003c/a> decided to kneel during pregame performances of “The Star Spangled Banner.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fed up with the extrajudicial killings of Black people in this country, Kaepernick took a knee and also took a stand. While it brought much-needed attention to an issue plaguing our society, it also drastically changed the course of Kaepernick’s career. Months later, the former Super Bowl quarterback was effectively pushed out of the NFL for his weekly quiet protest; he would later \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/15/695213705/colin-kaepernick-reaches-agreement-with-the-nfl-his-lawyer-says\">successfully sue the NFL for collusion\u003c/a>, alleging that teams blackballed him and former teammate Eric Reid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a decade after first quietly taking a knee in protest, Kaepernick is speaking about his journey, as he shares his new book with the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13908962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/gettyimages-613006826_custom-f97a5013d911721d6d056c2efd00c749ed8f41c5-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eli Harold (from left), Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 6, 2016, in Santa Clara. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group will open its doors, allowing audience members a chance to hear \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kaepernick discuss\u003c/a> his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Hachette Book Group). Each attendee will also receive a signed copy of the book, which covers Kaepernick’s upbringing in Turlock, his experience as a professional athlete, and how he found footing in the world of activism.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaepernick will be in conversation with comedian and award-winning host \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/w-kamau-bell\">W. Kamau Bell\u003c/a>; they’ll be joined that evening by appearances from the former head of the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940221/black-panthers-oakland-community-school-50th-anniversary\">Ericka Huggins\u003c/a> and Black Panther Party illustrator \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984778/emory-douglas-in-our-lifetime-aaacc-san-francisco\">Emory Douglas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event is backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nab2.org/\">National Association of Black Bookstores\u003c/a> and hosted by Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://marcusbooks.com/\">Marcus Books\u003c/a>. The collaboration between Kaepernick, one of the most high-profile activists of the last decade; the \u003ca href=\"https://blackrepertorygroup.com/\">Black Repertory Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1964 as one of the longest-running African American theatrical organizations; and Marcus Books, the United States’ oldest bookstore specializing in African American literature, is a rare confluence of greats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignright size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1695\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Colin Kaepernick's book 'The Perilous Fight'.\" class=\"wp-image-13993330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-scaled.jpg 1695w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-1017x1536.jpg 1017w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Colin-K-1356x2048.jpg 1356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1695px) 100vw, 1695px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colin Kaepernick’s book ‘The Perilous Fight’ publishes Sept. 15, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>It is also, according to Marcus Books owner Blanche Richardson, “the direct result of the work of the National Association of Black Bookstores (NAB2).”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Richardson gives credit to NAB2, which is only in its second year of existence, for coordinating Kaepernick’s book tour with the publisher. “[NAB2] demands equity in sending Black authors to Black bookstores where their fan bases are,” writes Richardson.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaepernick has signed thousands of bookplates for this tour, so all ticket-holders will receive signed books. There will also be Q&A session after the conversation with W. Kamau Bell. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“All are welcome to have their pictures taken with the author,” Richardson adds, noting that VIP tickets have sold out and regular tickets are selling fast. “We will be adding a number of lesser-priced tickets for seats in the ‘overflow’ room once the $50 tickets are sold out.” (The overflow crowd will also receive signed books and be able to take photos.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaepernick’s rare public appearance outside of his foundation, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.knowyourrightscamp.org/\">Know Your Rights Camp,\u003c/a> is part of a book tour that will also stop at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-author-talk-tickets-1997911346620\">Guild Theater\u003c/a> in Sacramento on Sept. 21 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebellofla.org/events/writers-bloc-and-the-ebell-present-football-legend-colin-kaepernick\">Ebell Dining Room\u003c/a> in Los Angeles on Sept. 22.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Marcus Books regularly hosts convenings with authors and cultural figures. In the coming month they also have events with civil rights attorney and activist \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walter-riley-x-marcus-books-civil-rights-and-structural-attacks-tickets-1997521565775?aff=erelpanelorg\">Walter Riley \u003c/a>on Sept. 6, author \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/deborah-santana-x-marcus-books-loving-the-fire-tickets-1997526462421?aff=erelpanelorg\">Deborah Santana\u003c/a> on Sept. 20 and poet \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kevin-powell-w-kwc-complex-jazz-trio-x-marcus-books-tickets-1997528025095?aff=erelpanelorg\">Kevin Powell\u003c/a> (with KWC Complex Jazz Trio) on Sept. 26.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Colin Kaepernick discusses his book ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/colin-kaepernick/the-perilous-fight/9781538777879/\">The Perilous Fight\u003c/a>’ at the Black Repertory Group Theater (3201 Adeline St., Berkeley) on Sept. 22, \u003cem>6–8 p.m\u003c/em>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colin-kaepernick-x-marcus-books-the-perilous-fight-tickets-1997421539594?aff=erelpanelorg\">Check here\u003c/a> for further information. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-outdoor-festivals-bay-area-fall-2026",
"title": "15 of the Best Outdoor Festivals in the Bay Area This Fall",
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"headTitle": "15 of the Best Outdoor Festivals in the Bay Area This Fall | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the magic of autumn approaches, winds swirl and sunsets turn to sherbert hues of pink and orange. Stores fill with Halloween decorations, and kids in backpacks are once again up early, zombie-walking to class.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With fall comes festivals; for centuries, harvest time has meant outdoor celebrations. Here in the Bay Area, people sing in parks, eat in parking lots and dance in the streets. Below, find a select handful of this year’s outdoor fall festivals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13974858\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Performances at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival are always free. (Courtesy Yerba Buena Gardens Festival)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/events/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=36955909&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Ys4dhgMHawicf5GGZOYX0Sz9gJ\">Yerba Buena Gardens Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Through Nov. 13\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s diversity, and then there’s this festival’s lineup, which includes the Cuban Afro-Latin Funk combo \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/los-calderones/\">Los Calderones\u003c/a>, a full day celebrating cultures of the continent during \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/african-arts-festival-2026/\">the African Arts Festival\u003c/a> and a special \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/indigenous-peoples-day-jeremy-dutcher/\">San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day\u003c/a> performance by classically trained Indigenous Canadian tenor, Jeremy Dutcher. With free weekly performances on the open lawn between the Metreon and SFMOMA, the series concludes with a celebration of South Asian culture during the \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/bhangra-and-beats-111326/\">Bhangra & Beats Night Market\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-bizerkeley-food-fest-2026-tickets-1685365305999?aff=odcleoeventsincollection\">Bizerkeley Food Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 6\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What’s more Berkeley than a vegan food festival? A vegan food festival that helps rescue animals. In addition to live performances and free samples of food from an array of plant-based restaurants, the festival spreads awareness and raises funds for California Pit Bull Rescue — and even hosts a meet-and-greet with a few furry four-legged friends. (Note: Attendees may not bring their own dogs.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg\" alt=\"An older Black man in a shiny purple suit jacket smiles with eyes shut and arms raised in the air\" class=\"wp-image-13993027\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soul singer Eddie Holman, of “Hey There Lonely Girl” fame, is a scheduled performer at San José’s 2026 Chicano Soul Festival. (Bobby Bank/WireImage)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5th-annual-chicano-soul-fest-tickets-1984652009586\">Chicano Soul Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 29\u003cbr>History Park, San José\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lowriders, Aztec dancers and special appearances dot this afternoon festival. Two stages of live entertainment host performances by the likes of Eddie Holman, Sunny Ozuna, Mellow Man Ace and Discos Resaca. Also taking place is a special tribute to George Kerr, an architect of Latin soul music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mill-valley-fall-arts-festival-september-19-20-2026-hours-10-5-tickets-1988942471473?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 19 and 20\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Old Mill Park, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Next year will mark seven decades of the Mill Valley Arts Festival, a traditional celebration of live performances, crafts from over 100 different makers and a children’s grove with magic tricks and storytelling. And who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? This year’s celebration introduces a new wine tasting element with local vineyards like \u003ca href=\"https://www.barraofmendocino.com/\">Barra of Mendocino\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gibbsnapavalley.com/\">Gibbs of Napa Valley\u003c/a> and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Schoolchildren in face masks stringing up paper lanterns in Clinton Park, Oakland.\" class=\"wp-image-13901757\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children string up paper lanterns at Clinton Park during the 2020 edition of the Little Saigon Mid-Autumn Festival. (Good Good Eatz)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ovcc-mid-autumn-festival-2026-tickets-1990660367747\">Oakland Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Clinton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Little Saigon district is home to several thousand Vietnamese residents, along with dozens of Vietnamese-owned businesses, including markets, restaurants and stores. Sponsored by the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, this annual event offers a chance to learn about the neighborhood while enjoying food, meeting small businesses owners and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.dcpla.org/artfest-about\">Daly City Public Library’s Art & Lit Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 26\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Serramonte Center, Daly City\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All the festivals in this guide are outdoors, but c’mon, we had to make an exception for the library. This festival is… inside \u003cem>the mall\u003c/em>? Hear us out: for the fifth year in a row, Daly City’s arts and crafts scene is on full display at this event, with local performers, craftspeople and musicians. An event for all ages, the celebration doubles as a fundraiser for the Daly City Public Library, whose main branch is just a short walk from the mall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.folsomstreet.org/folsom-street-fair\">Folsom Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 27\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Folsom Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For 42 years, this eye-popping event has been a place where “pleasure meets protest, leather meets liberation, and visibility is an act of defiance.” A late-September celebration, Folsom is all about taking to the streets and enjoying the sunshine — even where the sun doesn’t usually shine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/sshhb5ISHvI?si=PelIllKibSJTWDbQ\">Oktoberfest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Throughout October\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Various locations\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lederhosen! Tubas! And most importantly: beer! \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaktoberfest.org/\">Oakland’s “Oaktoberfest”\u003c/a> takes place on Saturday Oct. 3 and Sunday Oct. 4 in East Oakland’s Dimond District. On the peninsula, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mvoktoberfest.com/\">Mountain View’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> gets underway the following weekend, Oct. 10 and 11. And if you’re in the South Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://campbelloktoberfest.com/\">Campbell’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> is Oct. 17 and 18. Up north, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/events/oktoberfest\">Vallejo’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> takes place beneath the roller coasters at none other than Six Flags amusement park. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jaelah (left), 12, a member of the Blue Bird Riders from Manteca, rides with her friend Aniyah, 13, during the Oakland Black Cowboy Association parade in Oakland on Oct. 5, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandbca.org/\">Oakland’s Black Cowboy Parade\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 3\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Little Bobby Hutton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An annual celebration of African American history and horseback riding, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12008139/oaklands-black-cowboy-association-celebrates-50-years-with-parade-and-festival\">the Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a> returns for its yearly celebration. With food vendors, dancers, pony rides and a parade, this event has been the pride of West Oakland for over 50 years\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://castrostreetfair.org/fair/\">Castro Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 4\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Castro Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than half a century, this celebration of community resilience takes over the Castro with music, arts and chic fashion. People are invited to come out and enjoy live music, food, DJs and more, all while raising funds for a number of charitable causes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60th.org/\">Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary Celebration\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Location to be determined\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sixty years ago, Bobby Seale and Dr. Huey P. Newton created and implemented a 10-point program, certifying the Oakland-born Black Panther Party for Self-Defense as a leading organization of new ideas and movements. On this weekend, the organization’s lasting legacy will be celebrated in proper fashion: a reunion of those who did the work and the community that’s benefited from their efforts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://gardensatlakemerritt.org/autumn-lights-festival-2026/\">Autumn Lights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–17\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Lake Merritt, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s an all-ages artistic light show, full of brightly colored illuminated installations, all inside a garden on the edge of Lake Merritt. What more does one need in life?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993026\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rangoli, a colorful form of Indian folk art celebrating art, beauty and culture, is seen drawn on the sidewalks of Bishop Ranch City Center to celebrate the Hindu holiday Diwali in San Ramon, California, on Nov. 14, 2020. (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.aiaevents.org/diwali-dhamaka-2026\">Dussehra Diwali Dhamaka Festival of Lights & Fireworks\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With bright lights, live Bollywood dancers and Indian cuisine of all sorts, the East Bay’s largest Diwali celebration boasts carnival rides and more than 150 food and shopping stalls. In addition to community dance groups and a huge fireworks show, attendees can also witness a 40 foot effigy of the demon king Raavan Dahan set aflame. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://hmbpumpkinfest.com/\">Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17–18\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Half Moon Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ll have a Halloween costume contest, seasonal drinks and workshops on pumpkin carving, plus work from over 250 artists, three stages of live music, a pumpkin parade and a pumpkin-weighing contest with some of the largest gourds known to man. All of that, plus a run, walk and stroll on Sunday to raise funds for \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercyhousing.org/california/coastside-senior/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23143634391&gbraid=0AAAAAD2ps6efEFaB6t-5JtQvVQFIEn2CA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4orUBhCjARIsAIbF3qy72I2TfDfTNSAmIIRW3Ixp4Nt2_lR2SN0J6oSQt3gd5sKS51BZLpQaAoYSEALw_wcB\">low-income senior housing\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13937452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Amalia Canales attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://unitycouncil.org/program/diaoakland/\">Oakland’s Día De Los Muertos Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Fruitvale Village, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are many other Día de los Muertos festivals around the Bay, but if you’ve never been to Fruitvale’s, you’re missing something special. This year’s theme is “La Lucha Continúa: Aquí Estamos y no Nos Vamos” (“The Struggle Continues: We’re Here and We’re Not Leaving”). A celebration of culture, rife with sugar skulls and marigolds, this festival doubles as a reminder that coming together in community can be a political act. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Briefly noted\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcheesefest.com/\">SF Cheese Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/filipino-island-fest-tickets-1992240712601?aff=erelpanelorg\">Filipino Island Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, Alameda)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://fleetweeksf.org/\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> (Oct. 4–12, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.litquake.org/\">Litquake\u003c/a> (Oct. 8–24, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/prescott-market-holiday-pop-up-craft-faires-tickets-1983919211768?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Prescott Market Holiday Pop-Up Craft Faires\u003c/a> (Oct. 24 and Dec. 19, Oakland)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fallchocolatesalon.com/\">Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon and Festival\u003c/a> (Nov. 22, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the magic of autumn approaches, winds swirl and sunsets turn to sherbert hues of pink and orange. Stores fill with Halloween decorations, and kids in backpacks are once again up early, zombie-walking to class.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As the magic of autumn approaches, winds swirl and sunsets turn to sherbert hues of pink and orange. Stores fill with Halloween decorations, and kids in backpacks are once again up early, zombie-walking to class.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With fall comes festivals; for centuries, harvest time has meant outdoor celebrations. Here in the Bay Area, people sing in parks, eat in parking lots and dance in the streets. Below, find a select handful of this year’s outdoor fall festivals.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>With fall comes festivals; for centuries, harvest time has meant outdoor celebrations. Here in the Bay Area, people sing in parks, eat in parking lots and dance in the streets. Below, find a select handful of this year’s outdoor fall festivals.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1920x1278.jpg 1920w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13974858\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Performances at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival are always free.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy Yerba Buena Gardens Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13974858\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Performances at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival are always free.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy Yerba Buena Gardens Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Yerba Buena Gardens Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/events/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=36955909&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Ys4dhgMHawicf5GGZOYX0Sz9gJ\">Yerba Buena Gardens Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/events/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=36955909&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Ys4dhgMHawicf5GGZOYX0Sz9gJ\">Yerba Buena Gardens Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Through Nov. 13\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Through Nov. 13\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s diversity, and then there’s this festival’s lineup, which includes the Cuban Afro-Latin Funk combo \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/los-calderones/\">Los Calderones\u003c/a>, a full day celebrating cultures of the continent during \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/african-arts-festival-2026/\">the African Arts Festival\u003c/a> and a special \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/indigenous-peoples-day-jeremy-dutcher/\">San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day\u003c/a> performance by classically trained Indigenous Canadian tenor, Jeremy Dutcher. With free weekly performances on the open lawn between the Metreon and SFMOMA, the series concludes with a celebration of South Asian culture during the \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/bhangra-and-beats-111326/\">Bhangra & Beats Night Market\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s diversity, and then there’s this festival’s lineup, which includes the Cuban Afro-Latin Funk combo \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/los-calderones/\">Los Calderones\u003c/a>, a full day celebrating cultures of the continent during \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/african-arts-festival-2026/\">the African Arts Festival\u003c/a> and a special \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/indigenous-peoples-day-jeremy-dutcher/\">San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day\u003c/a> performance by classically trained Indigenous Canadian tenor, Jeremy Dutcher. With free weekly performances on the open lawn between the Metreon and SFMOMA, the series concludes with a celebration of South Asian culture during the \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/bhangra-and-beats-111326/\">Bhangra & Beats Night Market\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Bizerkeley Food Fest",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-bizerkeley-food-fest-2026-tickets-1685365305999?aff=odcleoeventsincollection\">Bizerkeley Food Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-bizerkeley-food-fest-2026-tickets-1685365305999?aff=odcleoeventsincollection\">Bizerkeley Food Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 6\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 6\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What’s more Berkeley than a vegan food festival? A vegan food festival that helps rescue animals. In addition to live performances and free samples of food from an array of plant-based restaurants, the festival spreads awareness and raises funds for California Pit Bull Rescue — and even hosts a meet-and-greet with a few furry four-legged friends. (Note: Attendees may not bring their own dogs.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What’s more Berkeley than a vegan food festival? A vegan food festival that helps rescue animals. In addition to live performances and free samples of food from an array of plant-based restaurants, the festival spreads awareness and raises funds for California Pit Bull Rescue — and even hosts a meet-and-greet with a few furry four-legged friends. (Note: Attendees may not bring their own dogs.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg\" alt=\"An older Black man in a shiny purple suit jacket smiles with eyes shut and arms raised in the air\" class=\"wp-image-13993027\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soul singer Eddie Holman, of “Hey There Lonely Girl” fame, is a scheduled performer at San José’s 2026 Chicano Soul Festival.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Bobby Bank/WireImage)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg\" alt=\"An older Black man in a shiny purple suit jacket smiles with eyes shut and arms raised in the air\" class=\"wp-image-13993027\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soul singer Eddie Holman, of “Hey There Lonely Girl” fame, is a scheduled performer at San José’s 2026 Chicano Soul Festival.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Bobby Bank/WireImage)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Chicano Soul Fest",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5th-annual-chicano-soul-fest-tickets-1984652009586\">Chicano Soul Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 29\u003cbr>History Park, San José\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lowriders, Aztec dancers and special appearances dot this afternoon festival. Two stages of live entertainment host performances by the likes of Eddie Holman, Sunny Ozuna, Mellow Man Ace and Discos Resaca. Also taking place is a special tribute to George Kerr, an architect of Latin soul music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lowriders, Aztec dancers and special appearances dot this afternoon festival. Two stages of live entertainment host performances by the likes of Eddie Holman, Sunny Ozuna, Mellow Man Ace and Discos Resaca. Also taking place is a special tribute to George Kerr, an architect of Latin soul music.\u003c/p>\n"
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},
{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mill-valley-fall-arts-festival-september-19-20-2026-hours-10-5-tickets-1988942471473?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mill-valley-fall-arts-festival-september-19-20-2026-hours-10-5-tickets-1988942471473?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 19 and 20\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Old Mill Park, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 19 and 20\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Old Mill Park, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Next year will mark seven decades of the Mill Valley Arts Festival, a traditional celebration of live performances, crafts from over 100 different makers and a children’s grove with magic tricks and storytelling. And who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? This year’s celebration introduces a new wine tasting element with local vineyards like \u003ca href=\"https://www.barraofmendocino.com/\">Barra of Mendocino\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gibbsnapavalley.com/\">Gibbs of Napa Valley\u003c/a> and more.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Next year will mark seven decades of the Mill Valley Arts Festival, a traditional celebration of live performances, crafts from over 100 different makers and a children’s grove with magic tricks and storytelling. And who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? This year’s celebration introduces a new wine tasting element with local vineyards like \u003ca href=\"https://www.barraofmendocino.com/\">Barra of Mendocino\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gibbsnapavalley.com/\">Gibbs of Napa Valley\u003c/a> and more.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Schoolchildren in face masks stringing up paper lanterns in Clinton Park, Oakland.",
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"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Schoolchildren in face masks stringing up paper lanterns in Clinton Park, Oakland.\" class=\"wp-image-13901757\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children string up paper lanterns at Clinton Park during the 2020 edition of the Little Saigon Mid-Autumn Festival.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Good Good Eatz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Schoolchildren in face masks stringing up paper lanterns in Clinton Park, Oakland.\" class=\"wp-image-13901757\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children string up paper lanterns at Clinton Park during the 2020 edition of the Little Saigon Mid-Autumn Festival.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Good Good Eatz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Oakland Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ovcc-mid-autumn-festival-2026-tickets-1990660367747\">Oakland Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ovcc-mid-autumn-festival-2026-tickets-1990660367747\">Oakland Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Clinton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Clinton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Little Saigon district is home to several thousand Vietnamese residents, along with dozens of Vietnamese-owned businesses, including markets, restaurants and stores. Sponsored by the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, this annual event offers a chance to learn about the neighborhood while enjoying food, meeting small businesses owners and more.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Little Saigon district is home to several thousand Vietnamese residents, along with dozens of Vietnamese-owned businesses, including markets, restaurants and stores. Sponsored by the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, this annual event offers a chance to learn about the neighborhood while enjoying food, meeting small businesses owners and more.\u003c/p>\n"
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},
{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Daly City Public Library’s Art & Lit Fest",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.dcpla.org/artfest-about\">Daly City Public Library’s Art & Lit Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.dcpla.org/artfest-about\">Daly City Public Library’s Art & Lit Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 26\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Serramonte Center, Daly City\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 26\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Serramonte Center, Daly City\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All the festivals in this guide are outdoors, but c’mon, we had to make an exception for the library. This festival is… inside \u003cem>the mall\u003c/em>? Hear us out: for the fifth year in a row, Daly City’s arts and crafts scene is on full display at this event, with local performers, craftspeople and musicians. An event for all ages, the celebration doubles as a fundraiser for the Daly City Public Library, whose main branch is just a short walk from the mall.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>All the festivals in this guide are outdoors, but c’mon, we had to make an exception for the library. This festival is… inside \u003cem>the mall\u003c/em>? Hear us out: for the fifth year in a row, Daly City’s arts and crafts scene is on full display at this event, with local performers, craftspeople and musicians. An event for all ages, the celebration doubles as a fundraiser for the Daly City Public Library, whose main branch is just a short walk from the mall.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Folsom Street Fair",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.folsomstreet.org/folsom-street-fair\">Folsom Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.folsomstreet.org/folsom-street-fair\">Folsom Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 27\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Folsom Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 27\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Folsom Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For 42 years, this eye-popping event has been a place where “pleasure meets protest, leather meets liberation, and visibility is an act of defiance.” A late-September celebration, Folsom is all about taking to the streets and enjoying the sunshine — even where the sun doesn’t usually shine.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>For 42 years, this eye-popping event has been a place where “pleasure meets protest, leather meets liberation, and visibility is an act of defiance.” A late-September celebration, Folsom is all about taking to the streets and enjoying the sunshine — even where the sun doesn’t usually shine.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Oktoberfest",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/sshhb5ISHvI?si=PelIllKibSJTWDbQ\">Oktoberfest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/sshhb5ISHvI?si=PelIllKibSJTWDbQ\">Oktoberfest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
],
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Throughout October\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Various locations\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Throughout October\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Various locations\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lederhosen! Tubas! And most importantly: beer! \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaktoberfest.org/\">Oakland’s “Oaktoberfest”\u003c/a> takes place on Saturday Oct. 3 and Sunday Oct. 4 in East Oakland’s Dimond District. On the peninsula, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mvoktoberfest.com/\">Mountain View’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> gets underway the following weekend, Oct. 10 and 11. And if you’re in the South Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://campbelloktoberfest.com/\">Campbell’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> is Oct. 17 and 18. Up north, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/events/oktoberfest\">Vallejo’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> takes place beneath the roller coasters at none other than Six Flags amusement park. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lederhosen! Tubas! And most importantly: beer! \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaktoberfest.org/\">Oakland’s “Oaktoberfest”\u003c/a> takes place on Saturday Oct. 3 and Sunday Oct. 4 in East Oakland’s Dimond District. On the peninsula, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mvoktoberfest.com/\">Mountain View’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> gets underway the following weekend, Oct. 10 and 11. And if you’re in the South Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://campbelloktoberfest.com/\">Campbell’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> is Oct. 17 and 18. Up north, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/events/oktoberfest\">Vallejo’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> takes place beneath the roller coasters at none other than Six Flags amusement park. \u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jaelah (left), 12, a member of the Blue Bird Riders from Manteca, rides with her friend Aniyah, 13, during the Oakland Black Cowboy Association parade in Oakland on Oct. 5, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980417\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jaelah (left), 12, a member of the Blue Bird Riders from Manteca, rides with her friend Aniyah, 13, during the Oakland Black Cowboy Association parade in Oakland on Oct. 5, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Oakland’s Black Cowboy Parade ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandbca.org/\">Oakland’s Black Cowboy Parade\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandbca.org/\">Oakland’s Black Cowboy Parade\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 3\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Little Bobby Hutton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 3\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Little Bobby Hutton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An annual celebration of African American history and horseback riding, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12008139/oaklands-black-cowboy-association-celebrates-50-years-with-parade-and-festival\">the Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a> returns for its yearly celebration. With food vendors, dancers, pony rides and a parade, this event has been the pride of West Oakland for over 50 years\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>An annual celebration of African American history and horseback riding, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12008139/oaklands-black-cowboy-association-celebrates-50-years-with-parade-and-festival\">the Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a> returns for its yearly celebration. With food vendors, dancers, pony rides and a parade, this event has been the pride of West Oakland for over 50 years\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"attrs": {
"text": "Castro Street Fair",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://castrostreetfair.org/fair/\">Castro Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://castrostreetfair.org/fair/\">Castro Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 4\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Castro Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 4\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Castro Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than half a century, this celebration of community resilience takes over the Castro with music, arts and chic fashion. People are invited to come out and enjoy live music, food, DJs and more, all while raising funds for a number of charitable causes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For more than half a century, this celebration of community resilience takes over the Castro with music, arts and chic fashion. People are invited to come out and enjoy live music, food, DJs and more, all while raising funds for a number of charitable causes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary Celebration",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60th.org/\">Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary Celebration\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60th.org/\">Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary Celebration\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Location to be determined\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Location to be determined\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sixty years ago, Bobby Seale and Dr. Huey P. Newton created and implemented a 10-point program, certifying the Oakland-born Black Panther Party for Self-Defense as a leading organization of new ideas and movements. On this weekend, the organization’s lasting legacy will be celebrated in proper fashion: a reunion of those who did the work and the community that’s benefited from their efforts. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Sixty years ago, Bobby Seale and Dr. Huey P. Newton created and implemented a 10-point program, certifying the Oakland-born Black Panther Party for Self-Defense as a leading organization of new ideas and movements. On this weekend, the organization’s lasting legacy will be celebrated in proper fashion: a reunion of those who did the work and the community that’s benefited from their efforts. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Autumn Lights Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://gardensatlakemerritt.org/autumn-lights-festival-2026/\">Autumn Lights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://gardensatlakemerritt.org/autumn-lights-festival-2026/\">Autumn Lights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–17\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Lake Merritt, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–17\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Lake Merritt, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s an all-ages artistic light show, full of brightly colored illuminated installations, all inside a garden on the edge of Lake Merritt. What more does one need in life?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s an all-ages artistic light show, full of brightly colored illuminated installations, all inside a garden on the edge of Lake Merritt. What more does one need in life?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993026\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rangoli, a colorful form of Indian folk art celebrating art, beauty and culture, is seen drawn on the sidewalks of Bishop Ranch City Center to celebrate the Hindu holiday Diwali in San Ramon, California, on Nov. 14, 2020.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993026\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rangoli, a colorful form of Indian folk art celebrating art, beauty and culture, is seen drawn on the sidewalks of Bishop Ranch City Center to celebrate the Hindu holiday Diwali in San Ramon, California, on Nov. 14, 2020.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Dussehra Diwali Dhamaka Festival of Lights & Fireworks ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.aiaevents.org/diwali-dhamaka-2026\">Dussehra Diwali Dhamaka Festival of Lights & Fireworks\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.aiaevents.org/diwali-dhamaka-2026\">Dussehra Diwali Dhamaka Festival of Lights & Fireworks\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With bright lights, live Bollywood dancers and Indian cuisine of all sorts, the East Bay’s largest Diwali celebration boasts carnival rides and more than 150 food and shopping stalls. In addition to community dance groups and a huge fireworks show, attendees can also witness a 40 foot effigy of the demon king Raavan Dahan set aflame. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With bright lights, live Bollywood dancers and Indian cuisine of all sorts, the East Bay’s largest Diwali celebration boasts carnival rides and more than 150 food and shopping stalls. In addition to community dance groups and a huge fireworks show, attendees can also witness a 40 foot effigy of the demon king Raavan Dahan set aflame. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://hmbpumpkinfest.com/\">Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://hmbpumpkinfest.com/\">Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17–18\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Half Moon Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17–18\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Half Moon Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’ll have a Halloween costume contest, seasonal drinks and workshops on pumpkin carving, plus work from over 250 artists, three stages of live music, a pumpkin parade and a pumpkin-weighing contest with some of the largest gourds known to man. All of that, plus a run, walk and stroll on Sunday to raise funds for \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercyhousing.org/california/coastside-senior/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23143634391&gbraid=0AAAAAD2ps6efEFaB6t-5JtQvVQFIEn2CA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4orUBhCjARIsAIbF3qy72I2TfDfTNSAmIIRW3Ixp4Nt2_lR2SN0J6oSQt3gd5sKS51BZLpQaAoYSEALw_wcB\">low-income senior housing\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They’ll have a Halloween costume contest, seasonal drinks and workshops on pumpkin carving, plus work from over 250 artists, three stages of live music, a pumpkin parade and a pumpkin-weighing contest with some of the largest gourds known to man. All of that, plus a run, walk and stroll on Sunday to raise funds for \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercyhousing.org/california/coastside-senior/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23143634391&gbraid=0AAAAAD2ps6efEFaB6t-5JtQvVQFIEn2CA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4orUBhCjARIsAIbF3qy72I2TfDfTNSAmIIRW3Ixp4Nt2_lR2SN0J6oSQt3gd5sKS51BZLpQaAoYSEALw_wcB\">low-income senior housing\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13937452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Amalia Canales attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13937452\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Amalia Canales attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Oakland’s Día De Los Muertos Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://unitycouncil.org/program/diaoakland/\">Oakland’s Día De Los Muertos Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://unitycouncil.org/program/diaoakland/\">Oakland’s Día De Los Muertos Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Fruitvale Village, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Fruitvale Village, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are many other Día de los Muertos festivals around the Bay, but if you’ve never been to Fruitvale’s, you’re missing something special. This year’s theme is “La Lucha Continúa: Aquí Estamos y no Nos Vamos” (“The Struggle Continues: We’re Here and We’re Not Leaving”). A celebration of culture, rife with sugar skulls and marigolds, this festival doubles as a reminder that coming together in community can be a political act. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are many other Día de los Muertos festivals around the Bay, but if you’ve never been to Fruitvale’s, you’re missing something special. This year’s theme is “La Lucha Continúa: Aquí Estamos y no Nos Vamos” (“The Struggle Continues: We’re Here and We’re Not Leaving”). A celebration of culture, rife with sugar skulls and marigolds, this festival doubles as a reminder that coming together in community can be a political act. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcheesefest.com/\">SF Cheese Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/filipino-island-fest-tickets-1992240712601?aff=erelpanelorg\">Filipino Island Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, Alameda)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://fleetweeksf.org/\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> (Oct. 4–12, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.litquake.org/\">Litquake\u003c/a> (Oct. 8–24, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/prescott-market-holiday-pop-up-craft-faires-tickets-1983919211768?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Prescott Market Holiday Pop-Up Craft Faires\u003c/a> (Oct. 24 and Dec. 19, Oakland)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fallchocolatesalon.com/\">Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon and Festival\u003c/a> (Nov. 22, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcheesefest.com/\">SF Cheese Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/filipino-island-fest-tickets-1992240712601?aff=erelpanelorg\">Filipino Island Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, Alameda)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://fleetweeksf.org/\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> (Oct. 4–12, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.litquake.org/\">Litquake\u003c/a> (Oct. 8–24, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/prescott-market-holiday-pop-up-craft-faires-tickets-1983919211768?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Prescott Market Holiday Pop-Up Craft Faires\u003c/a> (Oct. 24 and Dec. 19, Oakland)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fallchocolatesalon.com/\">Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon and Festival\u003c/a> (Nov. 22, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "There’s plenty of places to eat, drink, dance and celebrate outside this fall.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the magic of autumn approaches, winds swirl and sunsets turn to sherbert hues of pink and orange. Stores fill with Halloween decorations, and kids in backpacks are once again up early, zombie-walking to class.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With fall comes festivals; for centuries, harvest time has meant outdoor celebrations. Here in the Bay Area, people sing in parks, eat in parking lots and dance in the streets. Below, find a select handful of this year’s outdoor fall festivals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13974858\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Courtesy-of-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Performances at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival are always free. (Courtesy Yerba Buena Gardens Festival)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/events/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=36955909&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Ys4dhgMHawicf5GGZOYX0Sz9gJ\">Yerba Buena Gardens Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Through Nov. 13\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s diversity, and then there’s this festival’s lineup, which includes the Cuban Afro-Latin Funk combo \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/los-calderones/\">Los Calderones\u003c/a>, a full day celebrating cultures of the continent during \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/african-arts-festival-2026/\">the African Arts Festival\u003c/a> and a special \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/indigenous-peoples-day-jeremy-dutcher/\">San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day\u003c/a> performance by classically trained Indigenous Canadian tenor, Jeremy Dutcher. With free weekly performances on the open lawn between the Metreon and SFMOMA, the series concludes with a celebration of South Asian culture during the \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/bhangra-and-beats-111326/\">Bhangra & Beats Night Market\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-bizerkeley-food-fest-2026-tickets-1685365305999?aff=odcleoeventsincollection\">Bizerkeley Food Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 6\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What’s more Berkeley than a vegan food festival? A vegan food festival that helps rescue animals. In addition to live performances and free samples of food from an array of plant-based restaurants, the festival spreads awareness and raises funds for California Pit Bull Rescue — and even hosts a meet-and-greet with a few furry four-legged friends. (Note: Attendees may not bring their own dogs.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg\" alt=\"An older Black man in a shiny purple suit jacket smiles with eyes shut and arms raised in the air\" class=\"wp-image-13993027\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-533139838-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soul singer Eddie Holman, of “Hey There Lonely Girl” fame, is a scheduled performer at San José’s 2026 Chicano Soul Festival. (Bobby Bank/WireImage)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5th-annual-chicano-soul-fest-tickets-1984652009586\">Chicano Soul Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 29\u003cbr>History Park, San José\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lowriders, Aztec dancers and special appearances dot this afternoon festival. Two stages of live entertainment host performances by the likes of Eddie Holman, Sunny Ozuna, Mellow Man Ace and Discos Resaca. Also taking place is a special tribute to George Kerr, an architect of Latin soul music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mill-valley-fall-arts-festival-september-19-20-2026-hours-10-5-tickets-1988942471473?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 19 and 20\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Old Mill Park, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Next year will mark seven decades of the Mill Valley Arts Festival, a traditional celebration of live performances, crafts from over 100 different makers and a children’s grove with magic tricks and storytelling. And who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? This year’s celebration introduces a new wine tasting element with local vineyards like \u003ca href=\"https://www.barraofmendocino.com/\">Barra of Mendocino\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gibbsnapavalley.com/\">Gibbs of Napa Valley\u003c/a> and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Schoolchildren in face masks stringing up paper lanterns in Clinton Park, Oakland.\" class=\"wp-image-13901757\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/midautumnfestival_goodgoodeatz-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children string up paper lanterns at Clinton Park during the 2020 edition of the Little Saigon Mid-Autumn Festival. (Good Good Eatz)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ovcc-mid-autumn-festival-2026-tickets-1990660367747\">Oakland Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Clinton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Little Saigon district is home to several thousand Vietnamese residents, along with dozens of Vietnamese-owned businesses, including markets, restaurants and stores. Sponsored by the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, this annual event offers a chance to learn about the neighborhood while enjoying food, meeting small businesses owners and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.dcpla.org/artfest-about\">Daly City Public Library’s Art & Lit Fest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 26\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Serramonte Center, Daly City\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All the festivals in this guide are outdoors, but c’mon, we had to make an exception for the library. This festival is… inside \u003cem>the mall\u003c/em>? Hear us out: for the fifth year in a row, Daly City’s arts and crafts scene is on full display at this event, with local performers, craftspeople and musicians. An event for all ages, the celebration doubles as a fundraiser for the Daly City Public Library, whose main branch is just a short walk from the mall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.folsomstreet.org/folsom-street-fair\">Folsom Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 27\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Folsom Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For 42 years, this eye-popping event has been a place where “pleasure meets protest, leather meets liberation, and visibility is an act of defiance.” A late-September celebration, Folsom is all about taking to the streets and enjoying the sunshine — even where the sun doesn’t usually shine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/sshhb5ISHvI?si=PelIllKibSJTWDbQ\">Oktoberfest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Throughout October\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Various locations\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lederhosen! Tubas! And most importantly: beer! \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaktoberfest.org/\">Oakland’s “Oaktoberfest”\u003c/a> takes place on Saturday Oct. 3 and Sunday Oct. 4 in East Oakland’s Dimond District. On the peninsula, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mvoktoberfest.com/\">Mountain View’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> gets underway the following weekend, Oct. 10 and 11. And if you’re in the South Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://campbelloktoberfest.com/\">Campbell’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> is Oct. 17 and 18. Up north, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/events/oktoberfest\">Vallejo’s Oktoberfest\u003c/a> takes place beneath the roller coasters at none other than Six Flags amusement park. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/241005-OaklandBlackCowboyParade-019-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jaelah (left), 12, a member of the Blue Bird Riders from Manteca, rides with her friend Aniyah, 13, during the Oakland Black Cowboy Association parade in Oakland on Oct. 5, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandbca.org/\">Oakland’s Black Cowboy Parade\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 3\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Little Bobby Hutton Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An annual celebration of African American history and horseback riding, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12008139/oaklands-black-cowboy-association-celebrates-50-years-with-parade-and-festival\">the Oakland Black Cowboy Association\u003c/a> returns for its yearly celebration. With food vendors, dancers, pony rides and a parade, this event has been the pride of West Oakland for over 50 years\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://castrostreetfair.org/fair/\">Castro Street Fair\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 4\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Castro Street, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than half a century, this celebration of community resilience takes over the Castro with music, arts and chic fashion. People are invited to come out and enjoy live music, food, DJs and more, all while raising funds for a number of charitable causes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.bpp60th.org/\">Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary Celebration\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Location to be determined\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sixty years ago, Bobby Seale and Dr. Huey P. Newton created and implemented a 10-point program, certifying the Oakland-born Black Panther Party for Self-Defense as a leading organization of new ideas and movements. On this weekend, the organization’s lasting legacy will be celebrated in proper fashion: a reunion of those who did the work and the community that’s benefited from their efforts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://gardensatlakemerritt.org/autumn-lights-festival-2026/\">Autumn Lights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 15–17\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Lake Merritt, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s an all-ages artistic light show, full of brightly colored illuminated installations, all inside a garden on the edge of Lake Merritt. What more does one need in life?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993026\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DiwaliSanRamonGetty-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rangoli, a colorful form of Indian folk art celebrating art, beauty and culture, is seen drawn on the sidewalks of Bishop Ranch City Center to celebrate the Hindu holiday Diwali in San Ramon, California, on Nov. 14, 2020. (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.aiaevents.org/diwali-dhamaka-2026\">Dussehra Diwali Dhamaka Festival of Lights & Fireworks\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With bright lights, live Bollywood dancers and Indian cuisine of all sorts, the East Bay’s largest Diwali celebration boasts carnival rides and more than 150 food and shopping stalls. In addition to community dance groups and a huge fireworks show, attendees can also witness a 40 foot effigy of the demon king Raavan Dahan set aflame. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://hmbpumpkinfest.com/\">Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 17–18\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Half Moon Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ll have a Halloween costume contest, seasonal drinks and workshops on pumpkin carving, plus work from over 250 artists, three stages of live music, a pumpkin parade and a pumpkin-weighing contest with some of the largest gourds known to man. All of that, plus a run, walk and stroll on Sunday to raise funds for \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercyhousing.org/california/coastside-senior/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23143634391&gbraid=0AAAAAD2ps6efEFaB6t-5JtQvVQFIEn2CA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4orUBhCjARIsAIbF3qy72I2TfDfTNSAmIIRW3Ixp4Nt2_lR2SN0J6oSQt3gd5sKS51BZLpQaAoYSEALw_wcB\">low-income senior housing\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13937452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Amalia Canales attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://unitycouncil.org/program/diaoakland/\">Oakland’s Día De Los Muertos Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003cbr>\u003c/em>\u003cem>Fruitvale Village, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are many other Día de los Muertos festivals around the Bay, but if you’ve never been to Fruitvale’s, you’re missing something special. This year’s theme is “La Lucha Continúa: Aquí Estamos y no Nos Vamos” (“The Struggle Continues: We’re Here and We’re Not Leaving”). A celebration of culture, rife with sugar skulls and marigolds, this festival doubles as a reminder that coming together in community can be a political act. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Briefly noted\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcheesefest.com/\">SF Cheese Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/filipino-island-fest-tickets-1992240712601?aff=erelpanelorg\">Filipino Island Fest\u003c/a> (Oct. 3, Alameda)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://fleetweeksf.org/\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> (Oct. 4–12, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.litquake.org/\">Litquake\u003c/a> (Oct. 8–24, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/prescott-market-holiday-pop-up-craft-faires-tickets-1983919211768?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Prescott Market Holiday Pop-Up Craft Faires\u003c/a> (Oct. 24 and Dec. 19, Oakland)\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fallchocolatesalon.com/\">Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon and Festival\u003c/a> (Nov. 22, San Francisco)\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oakland-mural-5th-avenue-laney-peralta-colleges",
"title": "A Massive New Oakland Mural Inspires Lasting Friendships and New Life Callings",
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"headTitle": "A Massive New Oakland Mural Inspires Lasting Friendships and New Life Callings | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/findingyourpeople\">Finding Your People\u003c/a>, a series celebrating the Bay Area’s meetups and subcultures that bring people together IRL in an increasingly online world.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s a new gigantic work of art on 5th Avenue in Oakland, and it’s as colorful as the community that created it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sorbet-like shades of yellow and red provide a background for an array of flora. An Iranian dancer in orange strikes a fierce pose on one side. And on the other, a young Aztec dancer with piercing eyes holds a drum. Double meanings and secret messages are interlaced throughout the piece.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Painted on a Peralta Community College District warehouse, the mural centers the four school mascots from the network of East Bay junior colleges: a Merritt College black panther, a Berkeley City College owl, a College of Alameda cougar and a Laney College eagle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes (left) and instructor Fredericko Alvarado touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course in Oakland. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Roughly 20 students and a handful of volunteers painted the murals as part of \u003ca href=\"https://laney.edu/news/unity-through-diversity-mural-celebrates-oakland-education-community\">Laney’s Art 129 summer course\u003c/a>. It covers the broadside of a nondescript building, visible to a steady flow of thousands of daily commuters on 5th Avenue and Interstate 880.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This undertaking shows the power of individuals coming together in pursuit of a simple lesson in art. When they signed up for the class, they knew they’d create a gigantic mural. What they didn’t realize was that they’d also walk away with cross-cultural connections and lasting bonds with dope artists that go beyond paint on a wall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Mural making is a cross-section between labor, psychotherapy, art making and community work,” says instructor \u003ca href=\"https://fredalvaradoarchives.space/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae14fUv8GL1aoaws95Lc4vfKaUaVlLIo8WvWSMBoxZy4vGRxISkLOIpMlyalg_aem_vFPtRnB2d61orrWem_4YVA\">Fredericko Alvarado\u003c/a>, who has taught the class for the past four years. All of this happens at once, he stresses while painting in the sun. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s labor-intensive and heavy on the body,” adds Alvarado, a longtime muralist himself, “especially at the scale that we were working.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(From left) Ernesto Cortes, Fredericko Alvarado and Emilio Hernandez look at the mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course after a fence blocking it from view was removed in Oakland on Aug. 18, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet according to his students, the hard work pays off.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m finally giving myself permission to go to art school,” says Malena Mayorga, standing on a patch of grass near the sprawling mural. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayorga, a longtime Oakland resident originally from El Salvador, contributed a tree that represents the original people of this land, the Ohlone people. Her painting of a large oak has cultural references etched into the bark. There’s a Chinese dragon, Brazilian flags and an Aztec Quetzalcōātl, as well as a Palestinian keffiyeh, Filipino markings, West African Adinkra symbols, Ethiopian embroidery, a Mayan figure that represents the universe and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes speaks with fellow student Malena Mayorga from Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course as they gather to see their completed mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Looking at the bigger picture, Mayorga professes, “We need to be changing the world [and moving] in the direction we want to see.” For her, the mural embodies that idea.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The artists had to first agree on what the mural would collectively depict, and then design their individual contributions before placing them on a wall. They made minor miscalculations and adjusted them along the way.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992955\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992955\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sketches for a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992954\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992954\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A completed sketch of the mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The end result is a towering community collage that illustrates the importance of community college. It stands about a paint bucket-toss from the Peralta District headquarters, a place that has recently dealt with a storm of budgetary issues.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recently, California’s community colleges lost the support of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/06/california-bay-area-community-colleges-funding-formula/\">a cost-of-living fund\u003c/a>, and the Peralta School District dealt with a $11.8 million deficit by cutting numerous classes and over 60 positions. This past spring they began closing \u003ca href=\"https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/03/laney-college-tower-to-retire/\">the Laney tower building\u003c/a>, and in June they agreed to \u003ca href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/peralta/Board.nsf/files/DURLE55624C7/%24file/25_26-212%20RESOLUTION%20AFFIRMING%20THE%20DISTRICT%20TRANSFORMATION%20PLAN%20AND%20THE%20CREATION%20OF%20OAKLAND%20CITY%20COLLEGE.pdf\">move forward with a plan to consolidate two schools\u003c/a> — Merritt and Laney — under one umbrella, Oakland City College. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the instability, this summer voters overwhelmingly approved a nine-year \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Peralta_Community_College_District,_California,_Measure_A,_Reauthorize_Parcel_Tax_to_Fund_Community_Colleges_Measure_(June_2026)\">parcel tax\u003c/a> to help fund the district, easing the tension and assuring students that the district plans on remaining affordable and accessible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992973\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez looks at the mural he helped paint during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The class of muralists reflects the wide array of reasons people choose to pursue their education at a community college. Some students are dealing with housing insecurity and physical health issues. Some are elders finally prioritizing art careers, and others are young students chasing their creative dreams. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Twenty-year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/vintage.vrtbre\">Kiana Tondre\u003c/a>, born and raised in Oakland, is a studio arts major at San Francisco State University. Partially inspired by her grandfather, a former California College of the Arts and Crafts professor, Tondre has long known that she’s an artist. And after taking this course at Laney over the past two summers, she honed in on murals as her preferred format. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is what I want to do with my life,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992957\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare to touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992956\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare paint for a mural touch-up. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Through the class she got connected to the legendary community arts organization \u003ca href=\"https://www.precitaeyes.org/\">Precita Eyes\u003c/a>, as well as a world of students she wouldn’t have met at her more expensive four-year college.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>”In terms of community, I think Laney brings people together a lot more,” Tondre says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tondre painted a beautifully stoic Iranian dancer, an image that’s emblematic of a group of women who are “very misrepresented,” she explains. An Iranian woman herself, Tondre imagined the design as an homage to her grandmother. “She is kind of like one of the guardians to the mural,” Tondre says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992964\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Qi Han takes a photo of Kiana Tondre in front of the section of the mural she created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course in Oakland on Aug. 14, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>On the other side of that stands Ernesto Cortes’ painting based on an old photo of his nephew, who began learning about traditional Aztec dances and culture at nine years old. Cortes tells KQED in Spanish that his nephew is now a young adult, and teaches cultural classes at the college level. Noting the importance of remaining steadfast in your calling and cultural pride, despite racism and other oppressive forces, Cortes says he had to honor his nephew’s vision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Below Cortes’ dancing nephew, depicted in vibrant shades of green and blue, are the Ngíva words for grass and water. And to the righthand side of that image is a mocha-colored owl with spread wings and huge eyes, painted by traditionally trained fine artist \u003ca href=\"https://hanqiart.com/\">Qi Han\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992974\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes touches up a section of the mural he created. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes speaks with fellow student Qi Han. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Before taking Alvarado’s class, Han had never painted a mural. Now, she’s already completed a second one through connections she made in the class. “Yeah, I think I’m hooked,” says Han.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you do a mural,” the Chinese-born artist reflects, “so many people can get to enjoy it. It’s just a different kind of art.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It also takes more people to make it. “The project is very big, you cannot do it by yourself,” Han says. “So you really have to work with other people.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Puerto Rican artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/liodez\">Emilio Hernandez\u003c/a> says this is the most diverse group of people he’s ever worked with. Not just a variety of ethnicities, but ages, expertise and interests in the craft. “There are students who are there just to dip their toes in art,” he says, “then there are artists like myself, who’ve been doing it for a few years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez spent a decade working as a commercial painter, specializing in coating metal surfaces and scaling huge items. His second job was painting the cranes at the Port of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992959\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez prepares to touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992960\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez works on a section of the mural he created. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He enjoyed the view from the towering machines, but the labor was rigorous, the schedule was stressful and racist interactions were pervasive. A lingering injury from a car accident years ago prompted him to save money, walk away from the job and return to art school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not easy for a married father of four, especially after he’d already gone through the Bay Area housing ringer. After facing a couple of eviction notices and multiple slumlords, he and his family ended up squatting in an abandoned apartment building. Hernandez used his painting abilities to renovate the spot with the help of a few others. Backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/\">Bay Area Community Land Trust\u003c/a>, he and the residents of the apartment building successfully earned the right to stay in their home on \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/our-houses/12th-ave\">12th Avenue\u003c/a>, not far from the mural.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez wanted to paint the mural’s black panther “as close to the sun as possible” to uplift Black and brown people’s legacy of activism. “I don’t want the children to be raised and not know the history of where we came from and what got us to get to where we’re at today,” he explains. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992961\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez touches up a section of the mural he created. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instructor Fredericko Alvarado (left) and student Emilio Hernandez prepare to touch up the mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>When he shared his stance with the class early in the semester, the discussion resulted in a bit of friction among students. But the tough conversation paid dividends in the end. “I couldn’t believe that we were having a civil conversation with a lot of tension,” Hernandez reflects, “and we ended it at peace.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lamakina510/\">Makina\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shishi.madriz/\">Shi Shi\u003c/a>, two mural-painting vets who volunteered with this summer’s class, agree that creating art with a collective is a surefire way to get artists in conversation and out of their silos. Shi Shi, who is also a dancer and tattoo artist from Berkeley, originally took the Peralta college class with late artist and professor \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2024/04/ray-patlan-mayor-of-balmy-alley-dies/\">Ray Patlán\u003c/a>. Proud that Alvarado is continuing the class’ legacy, Shi Shi highlights how it contributes to the region’s larger artist ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I took that class,” she says, “I met other artists, and also tapped in with other maestros and maestras here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Makina concurs, noting that the class is a catalyst for creatives to “think bigger about the impact of your arts.” Public art can inspire “community dialogue around the visual landscape of your neighborhood, around the way your city is represented and the cultural equity that it offers,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mural advisor Makina speaks with students from Laney College’s ART 129 course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Donald Diggs, a 72-year-old Monterey-raised returning student, says his life changed when he found the world of public art. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I happened to be incarcerated for 43 years,” Diggs shares, explaining that he got bit by the creative bug while taking classes through the \u003ca href=\"https://williamjamesassociation.org/\">William James Association\u003c/a> in prison. “I just focused on art and it was like my escape.” For four decades he sat behind bars, working mostly with ceramics. After his release he joined the Peralta college network, signing up for Alvarado’s class only a few months after his return.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He showed up and morally supported the group this year after helping paint last year’s piece — an adjacent mural that’s roughly a quarter of the size of this year’s mural. “Art school,” Diggs says with an exhale, “was probably the best choice I could have made. And God has been blessing me ever since, so I just keep doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each semester, Alvarado, the instructor, designs the class slightly differently, but he keeps the “scaffolding” the same. It’s hard to fail, he admits, no matter your skill level. “Active engagement, being present, participating and just trying” are his grading criteria. “I don’t judge too much on aesthetics,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992963\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instructor Fredericko Alvarado (left) and student Emilio Hernandez prepare paint. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Alvarado, who took over the class just as pandemic restrictions lifted, says he’s seen how the student artists have created their own community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Laney now has their own art club,” Alvarado says, referring to the newly-founded \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/societyofartistsandmakers\">Society of Artists & Markers\u003c/a>. With an email list of over 100 artists, the collective has already held two art openings since it began last spring, and a handful of Alvarado’s students are in the mix.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The beauty of the art club, much like his class, is the variety of work and different perspectives it offers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992966\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students and volunteers from Laney College’s ART 129 mural summer course gather for a group photo in front of their completed mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our classes are always filled or overfilled,” Alvarado says, explaining that the art department is always thinking of new ways to leverage access to resources and studio space for students in the Peralta system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In reality,” Alvarado concludes, “the community college belongs to everybody, right? So it should always be available to folks in some sort of way.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sorbet-like shades of yellow and red provide a background for an array of flora. An Iranian dancer in orange strikes a fierce pose on one side. And on the other, a young Aztec dancer with piercing eyes holds a drum. Double meanings and secret messages are interlaced throughout the piece.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Painted on a Peralta Community College District warehouse, the mural centers the four school mascots from the network of East Bay junior colleges: a Merritt College black panther, a Berkeley City College owl, a College of Alameda cougar and a Laney College eagle.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Painted on a Peralta Community College District warehouse, the mural centers the four school mascots from the network of East Bay junior colleges: a Merritt College black panther, a Berkeley City College owl, a College of Alameda cougar and a Laney College eagle.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes (left) and instructor Fredericko Alvarado touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Roughly 20 students and a handful of volunteers painted the murals as part of \u003ca href=\"https://laney.edu/news/unity-through-diversity-mural-celebrates-oakland-education-community\">Laney’s Art 129 summer course\u003c/a>. It covers the broadside of a nondescript building, visible to a steady flow of thousands of daily commuters on 5th Avenue and Interstate 880.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Roughly 20 students and a handful of volunteers painted the murals as part of \u003ca href=\"https://laney.edu/news/unity-through-diversity-mural-celebrates-oakland-education-community\">Laney’s Art 129 summer course\u003c/a>. It covers the broadside of a nondescript building, visible to a steady flow of thousands of daily commuters on 5th Avenue and Interstate 880.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This undertaking shows the power of individuals coming together in pursuit of a simple lesson in art. When they signed up for the class, they knew they’d create a gigantic mural. What they didn’t realize was that they’d also walk away with cross-cultural connections and lasting bonds with dope artists that go beyond paint on a wall.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This undertaking shows the power of individuals coming together in pursuit of a simple lesson in art. When they signed up for the class, they knew they’d create a gigantic mural. What they didn’t realize was that they’d also walk away with cross-cultural connections and lasting bonds with dope artists that go beyond paint on a wall.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Mural making is a cross-section between labor, psychotherapy, art making and community work,” says instructor \u003ca href=\"https://fredalvaradoarchives.space/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae14fUv8GL1aoaws95Lc4vfKaUaVlLIo8WvWSMBoxZy4vGRxISkLOIpMlyalg_aem_vFPtRnB2d61orrWem_4YVA\">Fredericko Alvarado\u003c/a>, who has taught the class for the past four years. All of this happens at once, he stresses while painting in the sun. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Mural making is a cross-section between labor, psychotherapy, art making and community work,” says instructor \u003ca href=\"https://fredalvaradoarchives.space/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae14fUv8GL1aoaws95Lc4vfKaUaVlLIo8WvWSMBoxZy4vGRxISkLOIpMlyalg_aem_vFPtRnB2d61orrWem_4YVA\">Fredericko Alvarado\u003c/a>, who has taught the class for the past four years. All of this happens at once, he stresses while painting in the sun. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(From left) Ernesto Cortes, Fredericko Alvarado and Emilio Hernandez look at the mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course after a fence blocking it from view was removed in Oakland on Aug. 18, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992958\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(From left) Ernesto Cortes, Fredericko Alvarado and Emilio Hernandez look at the mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course after a fence blocking it from view was removed in Oakland on Aug. 18, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m finally giving myself permission to go to art school,” says Malena Mayorga, standing on a patch of grass near the sprawling mural. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mayorga, a longtime Oakland resident originally from El Salvador, contributed a tree that represents the original people of this land, the Ohlone people. Her painting of a large oak has cultural references etched into the bark. There’s a Chinese dragon, Brazilian flags and an Aztec Quetzalcōātl, as well as a Palestinian keffiyeh, Filipino markings, West African Adinkra symbols, Ethiopian embroidery, a Mayan figure that represents the universe and more.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Looking at the bigger picture, Mayorga professes, “We need to be changing the world [and moving] in the direction we want to see.” For her, the mural embodies that idea.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The artists had to first agree on what the mural would collectively depict, and then design their individual contributions before placing them on a wall. They made minor miscalculations and adjusted them along the way.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The end result is a towering community collage that illustrates the importance of community college. It stands about a paint bucket-toss from the Peralta District headquarters, a place that has recently dealt with a storm of budgetary issues.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Recently, California’s community colleges lost the support of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/06/california-bay-area-community-colleges-funding-formula/\">a cost-of-living fund\u003c/a>, and the Peralta School District dealt with a $11.8 million deficit by cutting numerous classes and over 60 positions. This past spring they began closing \u003ca href=\"https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/03/laney-college-tower-to-retire/\">the Laney tower building\u003c/a>, and in June they agreed to \u003ca href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/peralta/Board.nsf/files/DURLE55624C7/$file/25_26-212%20RESOLUTION%20AFFIRMING%20THE%20DISTRICT%20TRANSFORMATION%20PLAN%20AND%20THE%20CREATION%20OF%20OAKLAND%20CITY%20COLLEGE.pdf\">move forward with a plan to consolidate two schools\u003c/a> — Merritt and Laney — under one umbrella, Oakland City College. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Recently, California’s community colleges lost the support of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/06/california-bay-area-community-colleges-funding-formula/\">a cost-of-living fund\u003c/a>, and the Peralta School District dealt with a $11.8 million deficit by cutting numerous classes and over 60 positions. This past spring they began closing \u003ca href=\"https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/03/laney-college-tower-to-retire/\">the Laney tower building\u003c/a>, and in June they agreed to \u003ca href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/peralta/Board.nsf/files/DURLE55624C7/$file/25_26-212%20RESOLUTION%20AFFIRMING%20THE%20DISTRICT%20TRANSFORMATION%20PLAN%20AND%20THE%20CREATION%20OF%20OAKLAND%20CITY%20COLLEGE.pdf\">move forward with a plan to consolidate two schools\u003c/a> — Merritt and Laney — under one umbrella, Oakland City College. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite the instability, this summer voters overwhelmingly approved a nine-year \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Peralta_Community_College_District,_California,_Measure_A,_Reauthorize_Parcel_Tax_to_Fund_Community_Colleges_Measure_(June_2026)\">parcel tax\u003c/a> to help fund the district, easing the tension and assuring students that the district plans on remaining affordable and accessible.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992973\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez looks at the mural he helped paint during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992973\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez looks at the mural he helped paint during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The class of muralists reflects the wide array of reasons people choose to pursue their education at a community college. Some students are dealing with housing insecurity and physical health issues. Some are elders finally prioritizing art careers, and others are young students chasing their creative dreams. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The class of muralists reflects the wide array of reasons people choose to pursue their education at a community college. Some students are dealing with housing insecurity and physical health issues. Some are elders finally prioritizing art careers, and others are young students chasing their creative dreams. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Twenty-year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/vintage.vrtbre\">Kiana Tondre\u003c/a>, born and raised in Oakland, is a studio arts major at San Francisco State University. Partially inspired by her grandfather, a former California College of the Arts and Crafts professor, Tondre has long known that she’s an artist. And after taking this course at Laney over the past two summers, she honed in on murals as her preferred format. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Twenty-year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/vintage.vrtbre\">Kiana Tondre\u003c/a>, born and raised in Oakland, is a studio arts major at San Francisco State University. Partially inspired by her grandfather, a former California College of the Arts and Crafts professor, Tondre has long known that she’s an artist. And after taking this course at Laney over the past two summers, she honed in on murals as her preferred format. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992957\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare to touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992956\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare paint for a mural touch-up.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992956\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare paint for a mural touch-up.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Through the class she got connected to the legendary community arts organization \u003ca href=\"https://www.precitaeyes.org/\">Precita Eyes\u003c/a>, as well as a world of students she wouldn’t have met at her more expensive four-year college.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>”In terms of community, I think Laney brings people together a lot more,” Tondre says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tondre painted a beautifully stoic Iranian dancer, an image that’s emblematic of a group of women who are “very misrepresented,” she explains. An Iranian woman herself, Tondre imagined the design as an homage to her grandmother. “She is kind of like one of the guardians to the mural,” Tondre says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tondre painted a beautifully stoic Iranian dancer, an image that’s emblematic of a group of women who are “very misrepresented,” she explains. An Iranian woman herself, Tondre imagined the design as an homage to her grandmother. “She is kind of like one of the guardians to the mural,” Tondre says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992964\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Qi Han takes a photo of Kiana Tondre in front of the section of the mural she created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course in Oakland on Aug. 14, 2026. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the other side of that stands Ernesto Cortes’ painting based on an old photo of his nephew, who began learning about traditional Aztec dances and culture at nine years old. Cortes tells KQED in Spanish that his nephew is now a young adult, and teaches cultural classes at the college level. Noting the importance of remaining steadfast in your calling and cultural pride, despite racism and other oppressive forces, Cortes says he had to honor his nephew’s vision.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the other side of that stands Ernesto Cortes’ painting based on an old photo of his nephew, who began learning about traditional Aztec dances and culture at nine years old. Cortes tells KQED in Spanish that his nephew is now a young adult, and teaches cultural classes at the college level. Noting the importance of remaining steadfast in your calling and cultural pride, despite racism and other oppressive forces, Cortes says he had to honor his nephew’s vision.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Below Cortes’ dancing nephew, depicted in vibrant shades of green and blue, are the Ngíva words for grass and water. And to the righthand side of that image is a mocha-colored owl with spread wings and huge eyes, painted by traditionally trained fine artist \u003ca href=\"https://hanqiart.com/\">Qi Han\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Below Cortes’ dancing nephew, depicted in vibrant shades of green and blue, are the Ngíva words for grass and water. And to the righthand side of that image is a mocha-colored owl with spread wings and huge eyes, painted by traditionally trained fine artist \u003ca href=\"https://hanqiart.com/\">Qi Han\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes speaks with fellow student Qi Han.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before taking Alvarado’s class, Han had never painted a mural. Now, she’s already completed a second one through connections she made in the class. “Yeah, I think I’m hooked,” says Han.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When you do a mural,” the Chinese-born artist reflects, “so many people can get to enjoy it. It’s just a different kind of art.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It also takes more people to make it. “The project is very big, you cannot do it by yourself,” Han says. “So you really have to work with other people.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It also takes more people to make it. “The project is very big, you cannot do it by yourself,” Han says. “So you really have to work with other people.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Puerto Rican artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/liodez\">Emilio Hernandez\u003c/a> says this is the most diverse group of people he’s ever worked with. Not just a variety of ethnicities, but ages, expertise and interests in the craft. “There are students who are there just to dip their toes in art,” he says, “then there are artists like myself, who’ve been doing it for a few years.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Puerto Rican artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/liodez\">Emilio Hernandez\u003c/a> says this is the most diverse group of people he’s ever worked with. Not just a variety of ethnicities, but ages, expertise and interests in the craft. “There are students who are there just to dip their toes in art,” he says, “then there are artists like myself, who’ve been doing it for a few years.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hernandez spent a decade working as a commercial painter, specializing in coating metal surfaces and scaling huge items. His second job was painting the cranes at the Port of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992959\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez prepares to touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He enjoyed the view from the towering machines, but the labor was rigorous, the schedule was stressful and racist interactions were pervasive. A lingering injury from a car accident years ago prompted him to save money, walk away from the job and return to art school.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He enjoyed the view from the towering machines, but the labor was rigorous, the schedule was stressful and racist interactions were pervasive. A lingering injury from a car accident years ago prompted him to save money, walk away from the job and return to art school.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not easy for a married father of four, especially after he’d already gone through the Bay Area housing ringer. After facing a couple of eviction notices and multiple slumlords, he and his family ended up squatting in an abandoned apartment building. Hernandez used his painting abilities to renovate the spot with the help of a few others. Backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/\">Bay Area Community Land Trust\u003c/a>, he and the residents of the apartment building successfully earned the right to stay in their home on \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/our-houses/12th-ave\">12th Avenue\u003c/a>, not far from the mural.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Not easy for a married father of four, especially after he’d already gone through the Bay Area housing ringer. After facing a couple of eviction notices and multiple slumlords, he and his family ended up squatting in an abandoned apartment building. Hernandez used his painting abilities to renovate the spot with the help of a few others. Backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/\">Bay Area Community Land Trust\u003c/a>, he and the residents of the apartment building successfully earned the right to stay in their home on \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/our-houses/12th-ave\">12th Avenue\u003c/a>, not far from the mural.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hernandez wanted to paint the mural’s black panther “as close to the sun as possible” to uplift Black and brown people’s legacy of activism. “I don’t want the children to be raised and not know the history of where we came from and what got us to get to where we’re at today,” he explains. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hernandez wanted to paint the mural’s black panther “as close to the sun as possible” to uplift Black and brown people’s legacy of activism. “I don’t want the children to be raised and not know the history of where we came from and what got us to get to where we’re at today,” he explains. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instructor Fredericko Alvarado (left) and student Emilio Hernandez prepare to touch up the mural.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992962\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instructor Fredericko Alvarado (left) and student Emilio Hernandez prepare to touch up the mural.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When he shared his stance with the class early in the semester, the discussion resulted in a bit of friction among students. But the tough conversation paid dividends in the end. “I couldn’t believe that we were having a civil conversation with a lot of tension,” Hernandez reflects, “and we ended it at peace.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When he shared his stance with the class early in the semester, the discussion resulted in a bit of friction among students. But the tough conversation paid dividends in the end. “I couldn’t believe that we were having a civil conversation with a lot of tension,” Hernandez reflects, “and we ended it at peace.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lamakina510/\">Makina\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shishi.madriz/\">Shi Shi\u003c/a>, two mural-painting vets who volunteered with this summer’s class, agree that creating art with a collective is a surefire way to get artists in conversation and out of their silos. Shi Shi, who is also a dancer and tattoo artist from Berkeley, originally took the Peralta college class with late artist and professor \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2024/04/ray-patlan-mayor-of-balmy-alley-dies/\">Ray Patlán\u003c/a>. Proud that Alvarado is continuing the class’ legacy, Shi Shi highlights how it contributes to the region’s larger artist ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lamakina510/\">Makina\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shishi.madriz/\">Shi Shi\u003c/a>, two mural-painting vets who volunteered with this summer’s class, agree that creating art with a collective is a surefire way to get artists in conversation and out of their silos. Shi Shi, who is also a dancer and tattoo artist from Berkeley, originally took the Peralta college class with late artist and professor \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2024/04/ray-patlan-mayor-of-balmy-alley-dies/\">Ray Patlán\u003c/a>. Proud that Alvarado is continuing the class’ legacy, Shi Shi highlights how it contributes to the region’s larger artist ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I took that class,” she says, “I met other artists, and also tapped in with other maestros and maestras here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Makina concurs, noting that the class is a catalyst for creatives to “think bigger about the impact of your arts.” Public art can inspire “community dialogue around the visual landscape of your neighborhood, around the way your city is represented and the cultural equity that it offers,” she says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Makina concurs, noting that the class is a catalyst for creatives to “think bigger about the impact of your arts.” Public art can inspire “community dialogue around the visual landscape of your neighborhood, around the way your city is represented and the cultural equity that it offers,” she says. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Donald Diggs, a 72-year-old Monterey-raised returning student, says his life changed when he found the world of public art. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I happened to be incarcerated for 43 years,” Diggs shares, explaining that he got bit by the creative bug while taking classes through the \u003ca href=\"https://williamjamesassociation.org/\">William James Association\u003c/a> in prison. “I just focused on art and it was like my escape.” For four decades he sat behind bars, working mostly with ceramics. After his release he joined the Peralta college network, signing up for Alvarado’s class only a few months after his return.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I happened to be incarcerated for 43 years,” Diggs shares, explaining that he got bit by the creative bug while taking classes through the \u003ca href=\"https://williamjamesassociation.org/\">William James Association\u003c/a> in prison. “I just focused on art and it was like my escape.” For four decades he sat behind bars, working mostly with ceramics. After his release he joined the Peralta college network, signing up for Alvarado’s class only a few months after his return.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He showed up and morally supported the group this year after helping paint last year’s piece — an adjacent mural that’s roughly a quarter of the size of this year’s mural. “Art school,” Diggs says with an exhale, “was probably the best choice I could have made. And God has been blessing me ever since, so I just keep doing it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Each semester, Alvarado, the instructor, designs the class slightly differently, but he keeps the “scaffolding” the same. It’s hard to fail, he admits, no matter your skill level. “Active engagement, being present, participating and just trying” are his grading criteria. “I don’t judge too much on aesthetics,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Alvarado, who took over the class just as pandemic restrictions lifted, says he’s seen how the student artists have created their own community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Laney now has their own art club,” Alvarado says, referring to the newly-founded \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/societyofartistsandmakers\">Society of Artists & Markers\u003c/a>. With an email list of over 100 artists, the collective has already held two art openings since it began last spring, and a handful of Alvarado’s students are in the mix.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992966\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students and volunteers from Laney College’s ART 129 mural summer course gather for a group photo in front of their completed mural.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our classes are always filled or overfilled,” Alvarado says, explaining that the art department is always thinking of new ways to leverage access to resources and studio space for students in the Peralta system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In reality,” Alvarado concludes, “the community college belongs to everybody, right? So it should always be available to folks in some sort of way.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Community college students of all ages and cultural backgrounds came together to paint the vibrant wall on 5th Avenue. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/findingyourpeople\">Finding Your People\u003c/a>, a series celebrating the Bay Area’s meetups and subcultures that bring people together IRL in an increasingly online world.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s a new gigantic work of art on 5th Avenue in Oakland, and it’s as colorful as the community that created it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sorbet-like shades of yellow and red provide a background for an array of flora. An Iranian dancer in orange strikes a fierce pose on one side. And on the other, a young Aztec dancer with piercing eyes holds a drum. Double meanings and secret messages are interlaced throughout the piece.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Painted on a Peralta Community College District warehouse, the mural centers the four school mascots from the network of East Bay junior colleges: a Merritt College black panther, a Berkeley City College owl, a College of Alameda cougar and a Laney College eagle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes (left) and instructor Fredericko Alvarado touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course in Oakland. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Roughly 20 students and a handful of volunteers painted the murals as part of \u003ca href=\"https://laney.edu/news/unity-through-diversity-mural-celebrates-oakland-education-community\">Laney’s Art 129 summer course\u003c/a>. It covers the broadside of a nondescript building, visible to a steady flow of thousands of daily commuters on 5th Avenue and Interstate 880.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This undertaking shows the power of individuals coming together in pursuit of a simple lesson in art. When they signed up for the class, they knew they’d create a gigantic mural. What they didn’t realize was that they’d also walk away with cross-cultural connections and lasting bonds with dope artists that go beyond paint on a wall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Mural making is a cross-section between labor, psychotherapy, art making and community work,” says instructor \u003ca href=\"https://fredalvaradoarchives.space/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae14fUv8GL1aoaws95Lc4vfKaUaVlLIo8WvWSMBoxZy4vGRxISkLOIpMlyalg_aem_vFPtRnB2d61orrWem_4YVA\">Fredericko Alvarado\u003c/a>, who has taught the class for the past four years. All of this happens at once, he stresses while painting in the sun. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s labor-intensive and heavy on the body,” adds Alvarado, a longtime muralist himself, “especially at the scale that we were working.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(From left) Ernesto Cortes, Fredericko Alvarado and Emilio Hernandez look at the mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course after a fence blocking it from view was removed in Oakland on Aug. 18, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet according to his students, the hard work pays off.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m finally giving myself permission to go to art school,” says Malena Mayorga, standing on a patch of grass near the sprawling mural. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayorga, a longtime Oakland resident originally from El Salvador, contributed a tree that represents the original people of this land, the Ohlone people. Her painting of a large oak has cultural references etched into the bark. There’s a Chinese dragon, Brazilian flags and an Aztec Quetzalcōātl, as well as a Palestinian keffiyeh, Filipino markings, West African Adinkra symbols, Ethiopian embroidery, a Mayan figure that represents the universe and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-04-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes speaks with fellow student Malena Mayorga from Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course as they gather to see their completed mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Looking at the bigger picture, Mayorga professes, “We need to be changing the world [and moving] in the direction we want to see.” For her, the mural embodies that idea.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The artists had to first agree on what the mural would collectively depict, and then design their individual contributions before placing them on a wall. They made minor miscalculations and adjusted them along the way.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992955\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992955\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sketches for a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992954\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992954\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A completed sketch of the mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The end result is a towering community collage that illustrates the importance of community college. It stands about a paint bucket-toss from the Peralta District headquarters, a place that has recently dealt with a storm of budgetary issues.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recently, California’s community colleges lost the support of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/06/california-bay-area-community-colleges-funding-formula/\">a cost-of-living fund\u003c/a>, and the Peralta School District dealt with a $11.8 million deficit by cutting numerous classes and over 60 positions. This past spring they began closing \u003ca href=\"https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/03/laney-college-tower-to-retire/\">the Laney tower building\u003c/a>, and in June they agreed to \u003ca href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/peralta/Board.nsf/files/DURLE55624C7/%24file/25_26-212%20RESOLUTION%20AFFIRMING%20THE%20DISTRICT%20TRANSFORMATION%20PLAN%20AND%20THE%20CREATION%20OF%20OAKLAND%20CITY%20COLLEGE.pdf\">move forward with a plan to consolidate two schools\u003c/a> — Merritt and Laney — under one umbrella, Oakland City College. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the instability, this summer voters overwhelmingly approved a nine-year \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Peralta_Community_College_District,_California,_Measure_A,_Reauthorize_Parcel_Tax_to_Fund_Community_Colleges_Measure_(June_2026)\">parcel tax\u003c/a> to help fund the district, easing the tension and assuring students that the district plans on remaining affordable and accessible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992973\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-20-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez looks at the mural he helped paint during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The class of muralists reflects the wide array of reasons people choose to pursue their education at a community college. Some students are dealing with housing insecurity and physical health issues. Some are elders finally prioritizing art careers, and others are young students chasing their creative dreams. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Twenty-year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/vintage.vrtbre\">Kiana Tondre\u003c/a>, born and raised in Oakland, is a studio arts major at San Francisco State University. Partially inspired by her grandfather, a former California College of the Arts and Crafts professor, Tondre has long known that she’s an artist. And after taking this course at Laney over the past two summers, she honed in on murals as her preferred format. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is what I want to do with my life,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992957\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-06-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare to touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992956\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-05-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Student Kiana Tondre and instructor Fredericko Alvarado prepare paint for a mural touch-up. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Through the class she got connected to the legendary community arts organization \u003ca href=\"https://www.precitaeyes.org/\">Precita Eyes\u003c/a>, as well as a world of students she wouldn’t have met at her more expensive four-year college.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>”In terms of community, I think Laney brings people together a lot more,” Tondre says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tondre painted a beautifully stoic Iranian dancer, an image that’s emblematic of a group of women who are “very misrepresented,” she explains. An Iranian woman herself, Tondre imagined the design as an homage to her grandmother. “She is kind of like one of the guardians to the mural,” Tondre says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992964\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-08-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Qi Han takes a photo of Kiana Tondre in front of the section of the mural she created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course in Oakland on Aug. 14, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>On the other side of that stands Ernesto Cortes’ painting based on an old photo of his nephew, who began learning about traditional Aztec dances and culture at nine years old. Cortes tells KQED in Spanish that his nephew is now a young adult, and teaches cultural classes at the college level. Noting the importance of remaining steadfast in your calling and cultural pride, despite racism and other oppressive forces, Cortes says he had to honor his nephew’s vision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Below Cortes’ dancing nephew, depicted in vibrant shades of green and blue, are the Ngíva words for grass and water. And to the righthand side of that image is a mocha-colored owl with spread wings and huge eyes, painted by traditionally trained fine artist \u003ca href=\"https://hanqiart.com/\">Qi Han\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992974\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-21-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes touches up a section of the mural he created. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-03-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ernesto Cortes speaks with fellow student Qi Han. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Before taking Alvarado’s class, Han had never painted a mural. Now, she’s already completed a second one through connections she made in the class. “Yeah, I think I’m hooked,” says Han.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you do a mural,” the Chinese-born artist reflects, “so many people can get to enjoy it. It’s just a different kind of art.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It also takes more people to make it. “The project is very big, you cannot do it by yourself,” Han says. “So you really have to work with other people.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Puerto Rican artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/liodez\">Emilio Hernandez\u003c/a> says this is the most diverse group of people he’s ever worked with. Not just a variety of ethnicities, but ages, expertise and interests in the craft. “There are students who are there just to dip their toes in art,” he says, “then there are artists like myself, who’ve been doing it for a few years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez spent a decade working as a commercial painter, specializing in coating metal surfaces and scaling huge items. His second job was painting the cranes at the Port of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992959\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-09-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez prepares to touch up a mural created during Laney College’s ART 129 summer mural course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"13992960\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez works on a section of the mural he created. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He enjoyed the view from the towering machines, but the labor was rigorous, the schedule was stressful and racist interactions were pervasive. A lingering injury from a car accident years ago prompted him to save money, walk away from the job and return to art school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not easy for a married father of four, especially after he’d already gone through the Bay Area housing ringer. After facing a couple of eviction notices and multiple slumlords, he and his family ended up squatting in an abandoned apartment building. Hernandez used his painting abilities to renovate the spot with the help of a few others. Backed by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/\">Bay Area Community Land Trust\u003c/a>, he and the residents of the apartment building successfully earned the right to stay in their home on \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaclt.org/our-houses/12th-ave\">12th Avenue\u003c/a>, not far from the mural.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez wanted to paint the mural’s black panther “as close to the sun as possible” to uplift Black and brown people’s legacy of activism. “I don’t want the children to be raised and not know the history of where we came from and what got us to get to where we’re at today,” he explains. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992961\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-11-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emilio Hernandez touches up a section of the mural he created. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-14-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instructor Fredericko Alvarado (left) and student Emilio Hernandez prepare to touch up the mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>When he shared his stance with the class early in the semester, the discussion resulted in a bit of friction among students. But the tough conversation paid dividends in the end. “I couldn’t believe that we were having a civil conversation with a lot of tension,” Hernandez reflects, “and we ended it at peace.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lamakina510/\">Makina\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shishi.madriz/\">Shi Shi\u003c/a>, two mural-painting vets who volunteered with this summer’s class, agree that creating art with a collective is a surefire way to get artists in conversation and out of their silos. Shi Shi, who is also a dancer and tattoo artist from Berkeley, originally took the Peralta college class with late artist and professor \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2024/04/ray-patlan-mayor-of-balmy-alley-dies/\">Ray Patlán\u003c/a>. Proud that Alvarado is continuing the class’ legacy, Shi Shi highlights how it contributes to the region’s larger artist ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I took that class,” she says, “I met other artists, and also tapped in with other maestros and maestras here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Makina concurs, noting that the class is a catalyst for creatives to “think bigger about the impact of your arts.” Public art can inspire “community dialogue around the visual landscape of your neighborhood, around the way your city is represented and the cultural equity that it offers,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-19-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mural advisor Makina speaks with students from Laney College’s ART 129 course. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Donald Diggs, a 72-year-old Monterey-raised returning student, says his life changed when he found the world of public art. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I happened to be incarcerated for 43 years,” Diggs shares, explaining that he got bit by the creative bug while taking classes through the \u003ca href=\"https://williamjamesassociation.org/\">William James Association\u003c/a> in prison. “I just focused on art and it was like my escape.” For four decades he sat behind bars, working mostly with ceramics. After his release he joined the Peralta college network, signing up for Alvarado’s class only a few months after his return.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He showed up and morally supported the group this year after helping paint last year’s piece — an adjacent mural that’s roughly a quarter of the size of this year’s mural. “Art school,” Diggs says with an exhale, “was probably the best choice I could have made. And God has been blessing me ever since, so I just keep doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each semester, Alvarado, the instructor, designs the class slightly differently, but he keeps the “scaffolding” the same. It’s hard to fail, he admits, no matter your skill level. “Active engagement, being present, participating and just trying” are his grading criteria. “I don’t judge too much on aesthetics,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992963\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260818-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-15-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instructor Fredericko Alvarado (left) and student Emilio Hernandez prepare paint. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Alvarado, who took over the class just as pandemic restrictions lifted, says he’s seen how the student artists have created their own community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Laney now has their own art club,” Alvarado says, referring to the newly-founded \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/societyofartistsandmakers\">Society of Artists & Markers\u003c/a>. With an email list of over 100 artists, the collective has already held two art openings since it began last spring, and a handful of Alvarado’s students are in the mix.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The beauty of the art club, much like his class, is the variety of work and different perspectives it offers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992966\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260814-FYP-CommunityCollegeArtClass-16-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students and volunteers from Laney College’s ART 129 mural summer course gather for a group photo in front of their completed mural. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our classes are always filled or overfilled,” Alvarado says, explaining that the art department is always thinking of new ways to leverage access to resources and studio space for students in the Peralta system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In reality,” Alvarado concludes, “the community college belongs to everybody, right? So it should always be available to folks in some sort of way.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bape-block-party-san-francisco-union-square",
"title": "A BAPE Block Party and the Changing Face of San Francisco’s Union Square",
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"headTitle": "A BAPE Block Party and the Changing Face of San Francisco’s Union Square | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>At the turn of the millennium, BAPE had the hip-hop world in a veritable headlock. Now, the Japanese streetwear brand has \u003ca href=\"https://us.bape.com/pages/bape-in-the-bay\">a San Francisco storefront\u003c/a>. Their Union Square location soft-launched over the summer, and this Saturday, Aug. 22, its celebrates its official grand opening with a block party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The brick-and-mortar shop will open at 10 a.m. — earlier than usual — while the block party, just around the corner, will run from 1 p.m.–5 p.m. The free, all-ages event features a live performance from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/p-lo\">Pinole rapper-producer P-Lo\u003c/a>, as well as DJ sets from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cydneychristine/?hl=en\">Lil CC\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shabazzo/?hl=en\">Shabazz\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956839/dj-d-sharp\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ll also be restocking all of our sold-out SF BAPE merch,” adds the store’s assistant manager, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/antbankx/\">Ant Bankx\u003c/a>, referring to the special San Francisco-branded apparel that flew off shelves as soon as the store opened. “We’ve had a line every day, out the store,” Bankx attests. “Even for BAPE, that’s not normal.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993110\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Designer Ant Bankx says San Francisco fashion is thriving, but too often overlooked. (Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The company, founded in 1993 by fashion designer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nigo/?hl=en\">Nigo\u003c/a>, has long been a standard of urban wear. By opening a store in Union Square, Bankx says, San Francisco’s fashion scene is getting the recognition it deserves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve always been here,” says Bankx, “and we’ve always had a voice.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raised in Richmond, Bankx has styled some of the Bay’s top entertainers, including Rexx Life Raj and Ovrkast. Co-producer of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cafe_gumbo/\">Cafe Gumbo\u003c/a> streetwear pop-up series, Bankx has also worked with local and nationally recognized brands and retailers, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandish.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19573623042&gbraid=0AAAAADtk0K2CZWJkeivHVJmKH6XT5LS14&gclid=CjwKCAjwy5rUBhB5EiwAIoAtChymH-kRB7MBeeQiFfx6aEmwajIVNvkdcXbMMGqjzCnDPwF94ZQmzBoCKY4QAvD_BwE\">Oaklandish\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://instagram.com/thestashed/?hl=en\">STASHED SF\u003c/a> and the high-end consignment shop \u003ca href=\"https://shoprelove.com/\">ReLove\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Steeped in Bay Area culture and the world of fashion, Bankx knows all about what’s impeding the region from being credited as a hub for stylish apparel and fly garments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People want fashion to look like how fashion looks everywhere,” he says — but the Bay Area has always developed a style of its own. “It’s not on anyone else’s terms. We’re not imitating New York or Los Angeles, we’re out here doing our own thing. Setting our own vibe.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993099\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Union Square in downtown San Francisco, pictured on January 22, 2026. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with the notion that people aren’t \u003cem>getting fits off\u003c/em> in the Bay, there’s also a reputation that Union Square is trying to shed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 2024 attempted robbery and shooting of \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47150842/ricky-pearsall-recounts-shooting-want-live-happy-life\">49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall\u003c/a> in the area, plus a series of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11897148/rash-of-organized-weekend-robberies-target-luxury-stores-across-the-bay-area\">smash-and-grab robberies\u003c/a> at luxury retail stores in 2021, plagued the “brand” of Union Square. While reports of these incidents were accurate, Bankx says the tone online quickly became sensationalized. “Everybody focuses on the negative,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-builds-on-downtown-public-safety-progress-with-safety-improvements-ahead-of-busy-holiday-shopping-season\">San Francisco reported\u003c/a> a 40% drop in crime in the area. That came on the heels of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11961449/california-targets-smash-and-grabs-with-267-million-program-aimed-at-brazen-store-thefts\">$267 million dollar\u003c/a> California Highway Patrol program announced in 2023, which aimed to crack down on robberies at shopping areas across the state. And in 2025, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie implemented a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/mayor-lurie-launches-sfpd-hospitality-task-force-major-new-effort-to-strengthen-public-safety-drive-economic-comeback\">SFPD Hospitality Task Force\u003c/a>, created specifically to “improve public safety, boost tourism and drive economic recovery in key commercial area(s),” including Union Square.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much like the rest of downtown San Francisco, Union Square is in a state of transition. Since 2020, \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/04/25/union-square-stores-closing-san-francisco/\">more than 15 stores\u003c/a>, ranging from DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) to Saks Fifth Avenue, have left the area. At one point, even Macy’s threatened to vacate its flagship store on the square. This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101912760/what-should-replace-san-francisco-centre\">closure of San Francisco’s largest mall\u003c/a>, three blocks away, didn’t help. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in the wake of the mass exodus, new stores have appeared, including \u003ca class=\"\" href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/viral-toy-store-quietly-opens-bay-area-20771398.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pop Mart\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2025/08/06/moscot-union-square-geary-fillmore-luxury-eyewear.html\">Moscot\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/zara-open-new-flagship-store-san-francisco-union-square/3839664/\">Zara\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/nintendo-san-francisco-opens-doors-bringing-gaming-world-union-square-2nd-us-location/16426508/\">Nintendo\u003c/a> store.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993100\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shoppers wait in the rain outside of the Pop Mart store in San Francisco’s Union Square on Dec. 23, 2025. (Aidin Vaziri/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“San Francisco is making a conscious effort to put these things here,” says Bankx, describing it as not just post-pandemic rebuilding, but building better. “And I think BAPE was one of those early pieces to fall into place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With a SUPREME store just minutes away, Bankx sees “synergy within the culture.” Other major brands like \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2026/07/28/kith-streetwear-union-square-sf/\">Kith\u003c/a> also have plans to open stores downtown. With the influx, San Francisco itself is rebranding. The question is: Will it have a lasting impact or will it fold during the next economic downturn?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You don’t really know if it’s going to work until you see,” says Bankx.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Given the lines out of the BAPE store and the demand for regionally specific merch — and what’s sure to be a large crowd at Saturday’s event — there’s clearly a healthy market for fashion in Frisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://us.bape.com/pages/bape-in-the-bay?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae0M6GhQgGtgkmjghveF5i_h3pDDQwhLHpxOu0nYy9Ntn8TeCXVPrNiNU5zOA_aem_NmsTk4RfxOdmjDS_8ZeBtw&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3\">BAPE in the Bay\u003c/a> block party takes place on Saturday, Aug. 22, \u003cem>1–5 p.m. \u003c/em>at Union Square Plaza (216 Stockton St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcMQjTDs55z/\">Check here for more information.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993110\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Designer Ant Bankx says San Francisco fashion is thriving, but too often overlooked.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993110\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Designer Ant Bankx says San Francisco fashion is thriving, but too often overlooked.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The company, founded in 1993 by fashion designer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nigo/?hl=en\">Nigo\u003c/a>, has long been a standard of urban wear. By opening a store in Union Square, Bankx says, San Francisco’s fashion scene is getting the recognition it deserves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The company, founded in 1993 by fashion designer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nigo/?hl=en\">Nigo\u003c/a>, has long been a standard of urban wear. By opening a store in Union Square, Bankx says, San Francisco’s fashion scene is getting the recognition it deserves.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’ve always been here,” says Bankx, “and we’ve always had a voice.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Raised in Richmond, Bankx has styled some of the Bay’s top entertainers, including Rexx Life Raj and Ovrkast. Co-producer of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cafe_gumbo/\">Cafe Gumbo\u003c/a> streetwear pop-up series, Bankx has also worked with local and nationally recognized brands and retailers, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandish.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19573623042&gbraid=0AAAAADtk0K2CZWJkeivHVJmKH6XT5LS14&gclid=CjwKCAjwy5rUBhB5EiwAIoAtChymH-kRB7MBeeQiFfx6aEmwajIVNvkdcXbMMGqjzCnDPwF94ZQmzBoCKY4QAvD_BwE\">Oaklandish\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://instagram.com/thestashed/?hl=en\">STASHED SF\u003c/a> and the high-end consignment shop \u003ca href=\"https://shoprelove.com/\">ReLove\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Raised in Richmond, Bankx has styled some of the Bay’s top entertainers, including Rexx Life Raj and Ovrkast. Co-producer of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cafe_gumbo/\">Cafe Gumbo\u003c/a> streetwear pop-up series, Bankx has also worked with local and nationally recognized brands and retailers, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandish.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19573623042&gbraid=0AAAAADtk0K2CZWJkeivHVJmKH6XT5LS14&gclid=CjwKCAjwy5rUBhB5EiwAIoAtChymH-kRB7MBeeQiFfx6aEmwajIVNvkdcXbMMGqjzCnDPwF94ZQmzBoCKY4QAvD_BwE\">Oaklandish\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://instagram.com/thestashed/?hl=en\">STASHED SF\u003c/a> and the high-end consignment shop \u003ca href=\"https://shoprelove.com/\">ReLove\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Steeped in Bay Area culture and the world of fashion, Bankx knows all about what’s impeding the region from being credited as a hub for stylish apparel and fly garments.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Steeped in Bay Area culture and the world of fashion, Bankx knows all about what’s impeding the region from being credited as a hub for stylish apparel and fly garments.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People want fashion to look like how fashion looks everywhere,” he says — but the Bay Area has always developed a style of its own. “It’s not on anyone else’s terms. We’re not imitating New York or Los Angeles, we’re out here doing our own thing. Setting our own vibe.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“People want fashion to look like how fashion looks everywhere,” he says — but the Bay Area has always developed a style of its own. “It’s not on anyone else’s terms. We’re not imitating New York or Los Angeles, we’re out here doing our own thing. Setting our own vibe.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993099\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Union Square in downtown San Francisco, pictured on January 22, 2026. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993099\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Union Square in downtown San Francisco, pictured on January 22, 2026. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Along with the notion that people aren’t \u003cem>getting fits off\u003c/em> in the Bay, there’s also a reputation that Union Square is trying to shed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Along with the notion that people aren’t \u003cem>getting fits off\u003c/em> in the Bay, there’s also a reputation that Union Square is trying to shed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 2024 attempted robbery and shooting of \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47150842/ricky-pearsall-recounts-shooting-want-live-happy-life\">49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall\u003c/a> in the area, plus a series of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11897148/rash-of-organized-weekend-robberies-target-luxury-stores-across-the-bay-area\">smash-and-grab robberies\u003c/a> at luxury retail stores in 2021, plagued the “brand” of Union Square. While reports of these incidents were accurate, Bankx says the tone online quickly became sensationalized. “Everybody focuses on the negative,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The 2024 attempted robbery and shooting of \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47150842/ricky-pearsall-recounts-shooting-want-live-happy-life\">49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall\u003c/a> in the area, plus a series of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11897148/rash-of-organized-weekend-robberies-target-luxury-stores-across-the-bay-area\">smash-and-grab robberies\u003c/a> at luxury retail stores in 2021, plagued the “brand” of Union Square. While reports of these incidents were accurate, Bankx says the tone online quickly became sensationalized. “Everybody focuses on the negative,” he says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-builds-on-downtown-public-safety-progress-with-safety-improvements-ahead-of-busy-holiday-shopping-season\">San Francisco reported\u003c/a> a 40% drop in crime in the area. That came on the heels of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11961449/california-targets-smash-and-grabs-with-267-million-program-aimed-at-brazen-store-thefts\">$267 million dollar\u003c/a> California Highway Patrol program announced in 2023, which aimed to crack down on robberies at shopping areas across the state. And in 2025, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie implemented a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/mayor-lurie-launches-sfpd-hospitality-task-force-major-new-effort-to-strengthen-public-safety-drive-economic-comeback\">SFPD Hospitality Task Force\u003c/a>, created specifically to “improve public safety, boost tourism and drive economic recovery in key commercial area(s),” including Union Square.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-builds-on-downtown-public-safety-progress-with-safety-improvements-ahead-of-busy-holiday-shopping-season\">San Francisco reported\u003c/a> a 40% drop in crime in the area. That came on the heels of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11961449/california-targets-smash-and-grabs-with-267-million-program-aimed-at-brazen-store-thefts\">$267 million dollar\u003c/a> California Highway Patrol program announced in 2023, which aimed to crack down on robberies at shopping areas across the state. And in 2025, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie implemented a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/mayor-lurie-launches-sfpd-hospitality-task-force-major-new-effort-to-strengthen-public-safety-drive-economic-comeback\">SFPD Hospitality Task Force\u003c/a>, created specifically to “improve public safety, boost tourism and drive economic recovery in key commercial area(s),” including Union Square.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much like the rest of downtown San Francisco, Union Square is in a state of transition. Since 2020, \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/04/25/union-square-stores-closing-san-francisco/\">more than 15 stores\u003c/a>, ranging from DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) to Saks Fifth Avenue, have left the area. At one point, even Macy’s threatened to vacate its flagship store on the square. This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101912760/what-should-replace-san-francisco-centre\">closure of San Francisco’s largest mall\u003c/a>, three blocks away, didn’t help. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Much like the rest of downtown San Francisco, Union Square is in a state of transition. Since 2020, \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/04/25/union-square-stores-closing-san-francisco/\">more than 15 stores\u003c/a>, ranging from DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) to Saks Fifth Avenue, have left the area. At one point, even Macy’s threatened to vacate its flagship store on the square. This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101912760/what-should-replace-san-francisco-centre\">closure of San Francisco’s largest mall\u003c/a>, three blocks away, didn’t help. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But in the wake of the mass exodus, new stores have appeared, including \u003ca class=\"\" href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/viral-toy-store-quietly-opens-bay-area-20771398.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pop Mart\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2025/08/06/moscot-union-square-geary-fillmore-luxury-eyewear.html\">Moscot\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/zara-open-new-flagship-store-san-francisco-union-square/3839664/\">Zara\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/nintendo-san-francisco-opens-doors-bringing-gaming-world-union-square-2nd-us-location/16426508/\">Nintendo\u003c/a> store.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But in the wake of the mass exodus, new stores have appeared, including \u003ca class=\"\" href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/viral-toy-store-quietly-opens-bay-area-20771398.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pop Mart\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2025/08/06/moscot-union-square-geary-fillmore-luxury-eyewear.html\">Moscot\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/zara-open-new-flagship-store-san-francisco-union-square/3839664/\">Zara\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/nintendo-san-francisco-opens-doors-bringing-gaming-world-union-square-2nd-us-location/16426508/\">Nintendo\u003c/a> store.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993100\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shoppers wait in the rain outside of the Pop Mart store in San Francisco’s Union Square on Dec. 23, 2025. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“San Francisco is making a conscious effort to put these things here,” says Bankx, describing it as not just post-pandemic rebuilding, but building better. “And I think BAPE was one of those early pieces to fall into place.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“San Francisco is making a conscious effort to put these things here,” says Bankx, describing it as not just post-pandemic rebuilding, but building better. “And I think BAPE was one of those early pieces to fall into place.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With a SUPREME store just minutes away, Bankx sees “synergy within the culture.” Other major brands like \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2026/07/28/kith-streetwear-union-square-sf/\">Kith\u003c/a> also have plans to open stores downtown. With the influx, San Francisco itself is rebranding. The question is: Will it have a lasting impact or will it fold during the next economic downturn?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With a SUPREME store just minutes away, Bankx sees “synergy within the culture.” Other major brands like \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2026/07/28/kith-streetwear-union-square-sf/\">Kith\u003c/a> also have plans to open stores downtown. With the influx, San Francisco itself is rebranding. The question is: Will it have a lasting impact or will it fold during the next economic downturn?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You don’t really know if it’s going to work until you see,” says Bankx.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You don’t really know if it’s going to work until you see,” says Bankx.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Given the lines out of the BAPE store and the demand for regionally specific merch — and what’s sure to be a large crowd at Saturday’s event — there’s clearly a healthy market for fashion in Frisco.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Given the lines out of the BAPE store and the demand for regionally specific merch — and what’s sure to be a large crowd at Saturday’s event — there’s clearly a healthy market for fashion in Frisco.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://us.bape.com/pages/bape-in-the-bay?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae0M6GhQgGtgkmjghveF5i_h3pDDQwhLHpxOu0nYy9Ntn8TeCXVPrNiNU5zOA_aem_NmsTk4RfxOdmjDS_8ZeBtw&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3\">BAPE in the Bay\u003c/a> block party takes place on Saturday, Aug. 22, \u003cem>1–5 p.m. \u003c/em>at Union Square Plaza (216 Stockton St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcMQjTDs55z/\">Check here for more information.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://us.bape.com/pages/bape-in-the-bay?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae0M6GhQgGtgkmjghveF5i_h3pDDQwhLHpxOu0nYy9Ntn8TeCXVPrNiNU5zOA_aem_NmsTk4RfxOdmjDS_8ZeBtw&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3\">BAPE in the Bay\u003c/a> block party takes place on Saturday, Aug. 22, \u003cem>1–5 p.m. \u003c/em>at Union Square Plaza (216 Stockton St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcMQjTDs55z/\">Check here for more information.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The clothing brand’s opening celebration with P-Lo and others comes amid a rebranding of the area.",
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"headline": "A BAPE Block Party and the Changing Face of San Francisco’s Union Square",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At the turn of the millennium, BAPE had the hip-hop world in a veritable headlock. Now, the Japanese streetwear brand has \u003ca href=\"https://us.bape.com/pages/bape-in-the-bay\">a San Francisco storefront\u003c/a>. Their Union Square location soft-launched over the summer, and this Saturday, Aug. 22, its celebrates its official grand opening with a block party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The brick-and-mortar shop will open at 10 a.m. — earlier than usual — while the block party, just around the corner, will run from 1 p.m.–5 p.m. The free, all-ages event features a live performance from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/p-lo\">Pinole rapper-producer P-Lo\u003c/a>, as well as DJ sets from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cydneychristine/?hl=en\">Lil CC\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shabazzo/?hl=en\">Shabazz\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956839/dj-d-sharp\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ll also be restocking all of our sold-out SF BAPE merch,” adds the store’s assistant manager, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/antbankx/\">Ant Bankx\u003c/a>, referring to the special San Francisco-branded apparel that flew off shelves as soon as the store opened. “We’ve had a line every day, out the store,” Bankx attests. “Even for BAPE, that’s not normal.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993110\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/DSC01315-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Designer Ant Bankx says San Francisco fashion is thriving, but too often overlooked. (Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The company, founded in 1993 by fashion designer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nigo/?hl=en\">Nigo\u003c/a>, has long been a standard of urban wear. By opening a store in Union Square, Bankx says, San Francisco’s fashion scene is getting the recognition it deserves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve always been here,” says Bankx, “and we’ve always had a voice.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raised in Richmond, Bankx has styled some of the Bay’s top entertainers, including Rexx Life Raj and Ovrkast. Co-producer of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cafe_gumbo/\">Cafe Gumbo\u003c/a> streetwear pop-up series, Bankx has also worked with local and nationally recognized brands and retailers, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandish.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19573623042&gbraid=0AAAAADtk0K2CZWJkeivHVJmKH6XT5LS14&gclid=CjwKCAjwy5rUBhB5EiwAIoAtChymH-kRB7MBeeQiFfx6aEmwajIVNvkdcXbMMGqjzCnDPwF94ZQmzBoCKY4QAvD_BwE\">Oaklandish\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://instagram.com/thestashed/?hl=en\">STASHED SF\u003c/a> and the high-end consignment shop \u003ca href=\"https://shoprelove.com/\">ReLove\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Steeped in Bay Area culture and the world of fashion, Bankx knows all about what’s impeding the region from being credited as a hub for stylish apparel and fly garments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People want fashion to look like how fashion looks everywhere,” he says — but the Bay Area has always developed a style of its own. “It’s not on anyone else’s terms. We’re not imitating New York or Los Angeles, we’re out here doing our own thing. Setting our own vibe.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993099\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2258368806-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Union Square in downtown San Francisco, pictured on January 22, 2026. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with the notion that people aren’t \u003cem>getting fits off\u003c/em> in the Bay, there’s also a reputation that Union Square is trying to shed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 2024 attempted robbery and shooting of \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47150842/ricky-pearsall-recounts-shooting-want-live-happy-life\">49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall\u003c/a> in the area, plus a series of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11897148/rash-of-organized-weekend-robberies-target-luxury-stores-across-the-bay-area\">smash-and-grab robberies\u003c/a> at luxury retail stores in 2021, plagued the “brand” of Union Square. While reports of these incidents were accurate, Bankx says the tone online quickly became sensationalized. “Everybody focuses on the negative,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-builds-on-downtown-public-safety-progress-with-safety-improvements-ahead-of-busy-holiday-shopping-season\">San Francisco reported\u003c/a> a 40% drop in crime in the area. That came on the heels of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11961449/california-targets-smash-and-grabs-with-267-million-program-aimed-at-brazen-store-thefts\">$267 million dollar\u003c/a> California Highway Patrol program announced in 2023, which aimed to crack down on robberies at shopping areas across the state. And in 2025, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie implemented a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/mayor-lurie-launches-sfpd-hospitality-task-force-major-new-effort-to-strengthen-public-safety-drive-economic-comeback\">SFPD Hospitality Task Force\u003c/a>, created specifically to “improve public safety, boost tourism and drive economic recovery in key commercial area(s),” including Union Square.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much like the rest of downtown San Francisco, Union Square is in a state of transition. Since 2020, \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/04/25/union-square-stores-closing-san-francisco/\">more than 15 stores\u003c/a>, ranging from DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) to Saks Fifth Avenue, have left the area. At one point, even Macy’s threatened to vacate its flagship store on the square. This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101912760/what-should-replace-san-francisco-centre\">closure of San Francisco’s largest mall\u003c/a>, three blocks away, didn’t help. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in the wake of the mass exodus, new stores have appeared, including \u003ca class=\"\" href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/viral-toy-store-quietly-opens-bay-area-20771398.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pop Mart\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2025/08/06/moscot-union-square-geary-fillmore-luxury-eyewear.html\">Moscot\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/zara-open-new-flagship-store-san-francisco-union-square/3839664/\">Zara\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/nintendo-san-francisco-opens-doors-bringing-gaming-world-union-square-2nd-us-location/16426508/\">Nintendo\u003c/a> store.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993100\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-2252688144-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shoppers wait in the rain outside of the Pop Mart store in San Francisco’s Union Square on Dec. 23, 2025. (Aidin Vaziri/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“San Francisco is making a conscious effort to put these things here,” says Bankx, describing it as not just post-pandemic rebuilding, but building better. “And I think BAPE was one of those early pieces to fall into place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With a SUPREME store just minutes away, Bankx sees “synergy within the culture.” Other major brands like \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2026/07/28/kith-streetwear-union-square-sf/\">Kith\u003c/a> also have plans to open stores downtown. With the influx, San Francisco itself is rebranding. The question is: Will it have a lasting impact or will it fold during the next economic downturn?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You don’t really know if it’s going to work until you see,” says Bankx.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Given the lines out of the BAPE store and the demand for regionally specific merch — and what’s sure to be a large crowd at Saturday’s event — there’s clearly a healthy market for fashion in Frisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://us.bape.com/pages/bape-in-the-bay?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAae0M6GhQgGtgkmjghveF5i_h3pDDQwhLHpxOu0nYy9Ntn8TeCXVPrNiNU5zOA_aem_NmsTk4RfxOdmjDS_8ZeBtw&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3\">BAPE in the Bay\u003c/a> block party takes place on Saturday, Aug. 22, \u003cem>1–5 p.m. \u003c/em>at Union Square Plaza (216 Stockton St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcMQjTDs55z/\">Check here for more information.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-hyphy-sna-jose-oakland",
"title": "20 Years Later, Traxamillion’s ‘Slapp Addict’ Remains the Royal Hyphy Standard",
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"headTitle": "20 Years Later, Traxamillion’s ‘Slapp Addict’ Remains the Royal Hyphy Standard | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Traxamillion’s album \u003cem>The Slapp Addict\u003c/em> is a Renaissance painting; a still life, depicting a moment in time of oversized white T’s and Gucci Air Forces, dancing a \u003cem>little different\u003c/em> to a sound unlike anything hip-hop had heard before.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a proper portrayal of the hyphy period, it combines the San José-raised producer’s canvas of banging beats with lyrics from rap heavyweights in the region. The result is a record that represents hyphy-era royalty — but the only Regals referenced are Buicks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Released in August 2006, the album joined an onslaught from Bay Area hip-hop artists that same year. Vallejo’s E-40 dropped \u003cem>My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/em> and Oakland’s Too Short released \u003cem>Blow The Whistle\u003c/em>. The Pack came out of Berkeley with the song “Vans,” while San Francisco’s Messy Marv had a run of seven back-to-back albums.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the midst of it all, Traxamillion delivered one of the most significant and underrated albums of the entire subgenre that had folks going dumb.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2023\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in oversized T-shirt and jeans, with dreadlocks and a backwards cap, amid text and a UPC code\" class=\"wp-image-13992864\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-160x162.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-768x777.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-1519x1536.jpg 1519w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The Slapp Addict’ album cover was styled like a magazine, and numbered ‘Issue 408’ after San José’s area code. (Slapp Addict Productions)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s audible time capsule, preserving a slice of culture while serving as a history lesson that you can still gig to, 20 years later. On Saturday, Aug. 22 at Passport Bar & Lounge in Oakland, an event \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-day-party-tickets-1996318754133?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaetrh9j8FTEryTdLFwPpmR9aZuZmuilCte0_jBfAWql3FLQqyk3Qgfp2XbTGw_aem_yR3U2jfjWmr9fR76s_j6wA\">honors the album’s 20th anniversary.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It has so many hits on it,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbqsT_rplbR/\">Alex Jimenez\u003c/a>, event co-organizer and Traxamillion’s former assistant, adding that the album is “arguably one of the top records for that era.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Near the top of the project is “Wakin Em Up” (feat. Dem Hoodstarz and Turf Talk), made to be played at a high volume, preferably by an old-school car with a huge sound system. (It pairs well with whistle tips, the kind that go \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhVWeDwSkzc\">woo early in the morning\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The track “Grown Man (Remix)” (feat. Clyde Carson, Dem Hoodstarz, Mistah F.A.B., San Quinn and Turf Talk) is a function anthem. It’s also a bit of a protest song, pushing back against the dress codes at hip-hop clubs in the early 2000s. The high-energy track essentially says: \u003cem>Even with these Stacy Adams shoes on, I’m still finna go dumb\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The track “From The Hood” (feat. Husalah, The Jacka and San Quinn) is an ode to the real ones. Over a slower, menacing beat, the rappers bring audiences into the underbelly of the Yay Area. The gritty black-and-white music video is a perfect compliment to the song.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kk_2q7rvkQ\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project captures certain people at early stages of their careers. “We Like the Slapps” features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978372/saaed-crumpler-oakland-bravemaker-film-festival\">Saeed Crumpler\u003c/a>, rapping under the name Balance; Crumpler is now a full-time television writer and filmmaker. “Club Stuntin” features Lil B when he was with The Pack, and before he became the Based God. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some people on the album are no longer with us, like The Jacka, who guests on “From the Hood.” There’s also “Top Down” with Zion I; the duo’s lead lyricist, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13962689/zumbi-zion-i-stephen-gaines-lawsuit-vigil-update\">Stephen “Zumbi” Gaines\u003c/a>, was killed five years ago during an altercation with a security guard at a hospital in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The interludes further illustrate the era. In one skit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/rita-forte\">Rita Forte\u003c/a> (then known as DJ Backside) calls Traxamillion looking to help deliver his songs to DJs around the nation. In another, someone calls Traxamillion impersonating then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, frustrated after trying to get in contact with the producer via Myspace.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1861\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in an oversized red T-shirt, backwards white striped baseball cap, studded belt and large jeans, in front of a hamburger stand\" class=\"wp-image-13992865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-160x149.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-768x715.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-1536x1429.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traxamillion, pictured in 2006 style, from the CD booklet for ‘The Slapp Addict.’ (Awnica ‘Flix’ Browne / Slapp Addict Productions)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The album also contains aspects of the time that didn’t age well, namely using the term “retarded” to describe dancing; “Yellow Bus” by Mistah F.A.B. is a reminder of that. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Mistah_F.A.B.\">Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/a>’s “Sideshow” (which also features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mistah-fab\">T\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">oo Short\u003c/a>) has provided a soundtrack to car culture in this region for two decades, featured in street parties, bootleg DVDs and Instagram stories.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the bass-heavy track “On Citas” (feat. Keak da Sneak), which made kids turf dance at the bus stop back in the day, is now being paired with a popular dance routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/On-Citas-6757185322213214210\">on TikTok\u003c/a> by the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jimenez, who has a nine-year-old and 13-year old, reports that “When [the song] started trending last year, they came up to me like, ‘You know Traxamillion is trending?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And that’s the larger goal, Jimenez tells me — to “reintroduce” Traxamillion’s work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541.jpeg\" alt=\"A black and white photo of an African American man in a backwards hat and plaid shirt.\" class=\"wp-image-13992722\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-160x160.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-600x600.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sultan ‘Traxamillion’ Banks was a producer known for his heavy drums and uptempo sound. He died in January of 2022 from nasopharyngeal cancer. (Courtesy of Traxamillion's estate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With appearances from Keak Da Sneak and Turf Talk, Jimenez says the 20th anniversary event will feel like a “hyphy reunion.” Co-hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pricelessdaroc/\">Priceless Da ROC\u003c/a>, with a headlining DJ set from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djmindmotion1/\">DJ Mind Motion\u003c/a>, the event will also benefit Traxamillion’s estate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Traxamillion never stopped reaching new heights. He produced City Girls’ 2020 song “Broke N—-s” (feat. Yo Gotti) and E-40’s 2021 track “I Stand On That” (feat. Joyner Lucas and T.I.). Today, 20 years after his debut album and nearly five years after his passing, he’s still moving the people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The people that are coming together,” Jimenez says of the upcoming event, “probably haven’t been together in the same room in a while. That’s going to be pretty cool to see.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Traxamillion ‘Slapp Addict’ 20th Anniversary Day Party takes place Saturday, Aug. 22, at Passport Bar & Lounge (1915 Broadway, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-day-party-tickets-1996318754133?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaetrh9j8FTEryTdLFwPpmR9aZuZmuilCte0_jBfAWql3FLQqyk3Qgfp2XbTGw_aem_yR3U2jfjWmr9fR76s_j6wA\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Traxamillion’s album \u003cem>The Slapp Addict\u003c/em> is a Renaissance painting; a still life, depicting a moment in time of oversized white T’s and Gucci Air Forces, dancing a \u003cem>little different\u003c/em> to a sound unlike anything hip-hop had heard before.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a proper portrayal of the hyphy period, it combines the San José-raised producer’s canvas of banging beats with lyrics from rap heavyweights in the region. The result is a record that represents hyphy-era royalty — but the only Regals referenced are Buicks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Released in August 2006, the album joined an onslaught from Bay Area hip-hop artists that same year. Vallejo’s E-40 dropped \u003cem>My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/em> and Oakland’s Too Short released \u003cem>Blow The Whistle\u003c/em>. The Pack came out of Berkeley with the song “Vans,” while San Francisco’s Messy Marv had a run of seven back-to-back albums.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Released in August 2006, the album joined an onslaught from Bay Area hip-hop artists that same year. Vallejo’s E-40 dropped \u003cem>My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/em> and Oakland’s Too Short released \u003cem>Blow The Whistle\u003c/em>. The Pack came out of Berkeley with the song “Vans,” while San Francisco’s Messy Marv had a run of seven back-to-back albums.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in oversized T-shirt and jeans, with dreadlocks and a backwards cap, amid text and a UPC code\" class=\"wp-image-13992864\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-160x162.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-768x777.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-1519x1536.jpg 1519w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The Slapp Addict’ album cover was styled like a magazine, and numbered ‘Issue 408’ after San José’s area code. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in oversized T-shirt and jeans, with dreadlocks and a backwards cap, amid text and a UPC code\" class=\"wp-image-13992864\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The Slapp Addict’ album cover was styled like a magazine, and numbered ‘Issue 408’ after San José’s area code. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s audible time capsule, preserving a slice of culture while serving as a history lesson that you can still gig to, 20 years later. On Saturday, Aug. 22 at Passport Bar & Lounge in Oakland, an event \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-day-party-tickets-1996318754133?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaetrh9j8FTEryTdLFwPpmR9aZuZmuilCte0_jBfAWql3FLQqyk3Qgfp2XbTGw_aem_yR3U2jfjWmr9fR76s_j6wA\">honors the album’s 20th anniversary.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It has so many hits on it,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbqsT_rplbR/\">Alex Jimenez\u003c/a>, event co-organizer and Traxamillion’s former assistant, adding that the album is “arguably one of the top records for that era.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It has so many hits on it,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbqsT_rplbR/\">Alex Jimenez\u003c/a>, event co-organizer and Traxamillion’s former assistant, adding that the album is “arguably one of the top records for that era.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Near the top of the project is “Wakin Em Up” (feat. Dem Hoodstarz and Turf Talk), made to be played at a high volume, preferably by an old-school car with a huge sound system. (It pairs well with whistle tips, the kind that go \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhVWeDwSkzc\">woo early in the morning\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The track “Grown Man (Remix)” (feat. Clyde Carson, Dem Hoodstarz, Mistah F.A.B., San Quinn and Turf Talk) is a function anthem. It’s also a bit of a protest song, pushing back against the dress codes at hip-hop clubs in the early 2000s. The high-energy track essentially says: \u003cem>Even with these Stacy Adams shoes on, I’m still finna go dumb\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The track “Grown Man (Remix)” (feat. Clyde Carson, Dem Hoodstarz, Mistah F.A.B., San Quinn and Turf Talk) is a function anthem. It’s also a bit of a protest song, pushing back against the dress codes at hip-hop clubs in the early 2000s. The high-energy track essentially says: \u003cem>Even with these Stacy Adams shoes on, I’m still finna go dumb\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The track “From The Hood” (feat. Husalah, The Jacka and San Quinn) is an ode to the real ones. Over a slower, menacing beat, the rappers bring audiences into the underbelly of the Yay Area. The gritty black-and-white music video is a perfect compliment to the song.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The project captures certain people at early stages of their careers. “We Like the Slapps” features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978372/saaed-crumpler-oakland-bravemaker-film-festival\">Saeed Crumpler\u003c/a>, rapping under the name Balance; Crumpler is now a full-time television writer and filmmaker. “Club Stuntin” features Lil B when he was with The Pack, and before he became the Based God. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The project captures certain people at early stages of their careers. “We Like the Slapps” features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978372/saaed-crumpler-oakland-bravemaker-film-festival\">Saeed Crumpler\u003c/a>, rapping under the name Balance; Crumpler is now a full-time television writer and filmmaker. “Club Stuntin” features Lil B when he was with The Pack, and before he became the Based God. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some people on the album are no longer with us, like The Jacka, who guests on “From the Hood.” There’s also “Top Down” with Zion I; the duo’s lead lyricist, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13962689/zumbi-zion-i-stephen-gaines-lawsuit-vigil-update\">Stephen “Zumbi” Gaines\u003c/a>, was killed five years ago during an altercation with a security guard at a hospital in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The interludes further illustrate the era. In one skit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/rita-forte\">Rita Forte\u003c/a> (then known as DJ Backside) calls Traxamillion looking to help deliver his songs to DJs around the nation. In another, someone calls Traxamillion impersonating then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, frustrated after trying to get in contact with the producer via Myspace.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The interludes further illustrate the era. In one skit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/rita-forte\">Rita Forte\u003c/a> (then known as DJ Backside) calls Traxamillion looking to help deliver his songs to DJs around the nation. In another, someone calls Traxamillion impersonating then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, frustrated after trying to get in contact with the producer via Myspace.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in an oversized red T-shirt, backwards white striped baseball cap, studded belt and large jeans, in front of a hamburger stand\" class=\"wp-image-13992865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-160x149.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-768x715.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-1536x1429.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traxamillion, pictured in 2006 style, from the CD booklet for ‘The Slapp Addict.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in an oversized red T-shirt, backwards white striped baseball cap, studded belt and large jeans, in front of a hamburger stand\" class=\"wp-image-13992865\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traxamillion, pictured in 2006 style, from the CD booklet for ‘The Slapp Addict.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The album also contains aspects of the time that didn’t age well, namely using the term “retarded” to describe dancing; “Yellow Bus” by Mistah F.A.B. is a reminder of that. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Mistah_F.A.B.\">Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/a>’s “Sideshow” (which also features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mistah-fab\">T\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">oo Short\u003c/a>) has provided a soundtrack to car culture in this region for two decades, featured in street parties, bootleg DVDs and Instagram stories.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And the bass-heavy track “On Citas” (feat. Keak da Sneak), which made kids turf dance at the bus stop back in the day, is now being paired with a popular dance routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/On-Citas-6757185322213214210\">on TikTok\u003c/a> by the next generation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541.jpeg\" alt=\"A black and white photo of an African American man in a backwards hat and plaid shirt.\" class=\"wp-image-13992722\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sultan ‘Traxamillion’ Banks was a producer known for his heavy drums and uptempo sound. He died in January of 2022 from nasopharyngeal cancer. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With appearances from Keak Da Sneak and Turf Talk, Jimenez says the 20th anniversary event will feel like a “hyphy reunion.” Co-hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pricelessdaroc/\">Priceless Da ROC\u003c/a>, with a headlining DJ set from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djmindmotion1/\">DJ Mind Motion\u003c/a>, the event will also benefit Traxamillion’s estate.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Traxamillion ‘Slapp Addict’ 20th Anniversary Day Party takes place Saturday, Aug. 22, at Passport Bar & Lounge (1915 Broadway, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-day-party-tickets-1996318754133?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaetrh9j8FTEryTdLFwPpmR9aZuZmuilCte0_jBfAWql3FLQqyk3Qgfp2XbTGw_aem_yR3U2jfjWmr9fR76s_j6wA\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The San José producer’s debut album is a cultural time capsule of the hyphy movement in 2006.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Traxamillion’s album \u003cem>The Slapp Addict\u003c/em> is a Renaissance painting; a still life, depicting a moment in time of oversized white T’s and Gucci Air Forces, dancing a \u003cem>little different\u003c/em> to a sound unlike anything hip-hop had heard before.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a proper portrayal of the hyphy period, it combines the San José-raised producer’s canvas of banging beats with lyrics from rap heavyweights in the region. The result is a record that represents hyphy-era royalty — but the only Regals referenced are Buicks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Released in August 2006, the album joined an onslaught from Bay Area hip-hop artists that same year. Vallejo’s E-40 dropped \u003cem>My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/em> and Oakland’s Too Short released \u003cem>Blow The Whistle\u003c/em>. The Pack came out of Berkeley with the song “Vans,” while San Francisco’s Messy Marv had a run of seven back-to-back albums.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the midst of it all, Traxamillion delivered one of the most significant and underrated albums of the entire subgenre that had folks going dumb.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2023\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in oversized T-shirt and jeans, with dreadlocks and a backwards cap, amid text and a UPC code\" class=\"wp-image-13992864\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-160x162.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-768x777.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Cover_-1519x1536.jpg 1519w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The Slapp Addict’ album cover was styled like a magazine, and numbered ‘Issue 408’ after San José’s area code. (Slapp Addict Productions)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s audible time capsule, preserving a slice of culture while serving as a history lesson that you can still gig to, 20 years later. On Saturday, Aug. 22 at Passport Bar & Lounge in Oakland, an event \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-day-party-tickets-1996318754133?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaetrh9j8FTEryTdLFwPpmR9aZuZmuilCte0_jBfAWql3FLQqyk3Qgfp2XbTGw_aem_yR3U2jfjWmr9fR76s_j6wA\">honors the album’s 20th anniversary.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It has so many hits on it,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbqsT_rplbR/\">Alex Jimenez\u003c/a>, event co-organizer and Traxamillion’s former assistant, adding that the album is “arguably one of the top records for that era.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Near the top of the project is “Wakin Em Up” (feat. Dem Hoodstarz and Turf Talk), made to be played at a high volume, preferably by an old-school car with a huge sound system. (It pairs well with whistle tips, the kind that go \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhVWeDwSkzc\">woo early in the morning\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The track “Grown Man (Remix)” (feat. Clyde Carson, Dem Hoodstarz, Mistah F.A.B., San Quinn and Turf Talk) is a function anthem. It’s also a bit of a protest song, pushing back against the dress codes at hip-hop clubs in the early 2000s. The high-energy track essentially says: \u003cem>Even with these Stacy Adams shoes on, I’m still finna go dumb\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The track “From The Hood” (feat. Husalah, The Jacka and San Quinn) is an ode to the real ones. Over a slower, menacing beat, the rappers bring audiences into the underbelly of the Yay Area. The gritty black-and-white music video is a perfect compliment to the song.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/-kk_2q7rvkQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-kk_2q7rvkQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project captures certain people at early stages of their careers. “We Like the Slapps” features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978372/saaed-crumpler-oakland-bravemaker-film-festival\">Saeed Crumpler\u003c/a>, rapping under the name Balance; Crumpler is now a full-time television writer and filmmaker. “Club Stuntin” features Lil B when he was with The Pack, and before he became the Based God. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some people on the album are no longer with us, like The Jacka, who guests on “From the Hood.” There’s also “Top Down” with Zion I; the duo’s lead lyricist, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13962689/zumbi-zion-i-stephen-gaines-lawsuit-vigil-update\">Stephen “Zumbi” Gaines\u003c/a>, was killed five years ago during an altercation with a security guard at a hospital in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The interludes further illustrate the era. In one skit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/rita-forte\">Rita Forte\u003c/a> (then known as DJ Backside) calls Traxamillion looking to help deliver his songs to DJs around the nation. In another, someone calls Traxamillion impersonating then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, frustrated after trying to get in contact with the producer via Myspace.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1861\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in an oversized red T-shirt, backwards white striped baseball cap, studded belt and large jeans, in front of a hamburger stand\" class=\"wp-image-13992865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-160x149.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-768x715.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.Booklet-1536x1429.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traxamillion, pictured in 2006 style, from the CD booklet for ‘The Slapp Addict.’ (Awnica ‘Flix’ Browne / Slapp Addict Productions)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The album also contains aspects of the time that didn’t age well, namely using the term “retarded” to describe dancing; “Yellow Bus” by Mistah F.A.B. is a reminder of that. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Mistah_F.A.B.\">Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/a>’s “Sideshow” (which also features \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mistah-fab\">T\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">oo Short\u003c/a>) has provided a soundtrack to car culture in this region for two decades, featured in street parties, bootleg DVDs and Instagram stories.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the bass-heavy track “On Citas” (feat. Keak da Sneak), which made kids turf dance at the bus stop back in the day, is now being paired with a popular dance routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/On-Citas-6757185322213214210\">on TikTok\u003c/a> by the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jimenez, who has a nine-year-old and 13-year old, reports that “When [the song] started trending last year, they came up to me like, ‘You know Traxamillion is trending?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And that’s the larger goal, Jimenez tells me — to “reintroduce” Traxamillion’s work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541.jpeg\" alt=\"A black and white photo of an African American man in a backwards hat and plaid shirt.\" class=\"wp-image-13992722\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-160x160.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Resized_IMG_44541-600x600.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sultan ‘Traxamillion’ Banks was a producer known for his heavy drums and uptempo sound. He died in January of 2022 from nasopharyngeal cancer. (Courtesy of Traxamillion's estate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With appearances from Keak Da Sneak and Turf Talk, Jimenez says the 20th anniversary event will feel like a “hyphy reunion.” Co-hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pricelessdaroc/\">Priceless Da ROC\u003c/a>, with a headlining DJ set from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djmindmotion1/\">DJ Mind Motion\u003c/a>, the event will also benefit Traxamillion’s estate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Traxamillion never stopped reaching new heights. He produced City Girls’ 2020 song “Broke N—-s” (feat. Yo Gotti) and E-40’s 2021 track “I Stand On That” (feat. Joyner Lucas and T.I.). Today, 20 years after his debut album and nearly five years after his passing, he’s still moving the people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The people that are coming together,” Jimenez says of the upcoming event, “probably haven’t been together in the same room in a while. That’s going to be pretty cool to see.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Traxamillion ‘Slapp Addict’ 20th Anniversary Day Party takes place Saturday, Aug. 22, at Passport Bar & Lounge (1915 Broadway, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traxamillion-slapp-addict-20-year-anniversary-day-party-tickets-1996318754133?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaetrh9j8FTEryTdLFwPpmR9aZuZmuilCte0_jBfAWql3FLQqyk3Qgfp2XbTGw_aem_yR3U2jfjWmr9fR76s_j6wA\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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