Theatre:
There are a couple of plays you might want to check out; Port Chicago 50 (closes 3/19) at Berkeley Rep; Eclipsed at the Curran (closes 3/19) and Without Mercy (closes 3/25) at The Phoenix in SF and Leaving the Blues at New Conservatory in SF (closes 4/2). 

Sonja D. Williams, Author of Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio and Freedom, at AAMLO, 3/11, 2-4 p.m.

Though pioneering journalist, Richard Durham (1917-1984) made Chicago his home, the subject of Professor Sonja D. Williams’s “Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio and Freedom” (2015) offers a portrait of a man who was not contained by geography—spatial or otherwise. Williams will be in town this weekend to share the Durham story at the African American Museum and Library, 659 14th Street, Oakland, Saturday March 11, 2017, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

The story of how Williams, winner of three George Foster Peabody Awards as a radio producer and professor in the Department of Media. Journalism, and Film at Howard University is about as amazing as the product on the other side of the14 years it took to get from idea to University of Illinois Press.

In a recent interview, the author says, she hadn’t known Durham’s work “until the mid-1990s when she had a chance to work for the Smithsonian Institute in the National Museum of American History. At that time they had a documentary unit for television and radio and it looked at various aspects of American history. “Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was” was a series Jacquie Gales Webb created which looked at blacks in radio from its earliest days into the 1990s. One of three producers, Williams says she was responsible for writing and producing a show about the Golden Age of Radio, that is, radio during the 1930s and ‘40s. Williams talked to some of her colleagues at Howard University and one person mentioned the series, “Destination Freedom” which aired in 1948, written by Richard Durham, whom she had never heard of or the series up to that point, she said.

While radio was the more popular medium in the 1930s and 1940s, it was also a segregated medium, that is, “you barely heard black voices on the air. If you heard them they were stereotypes: Amos and Andy, Beulah, maids, butlers, comic relief and negative depictions of black life and culture.” Williams said. Richard Durham’s tenure in radio was unique—he was one of the few men, black men, writing for the media. Black people were rarely featured in local or national dramatic broadcasts then.

So for black people listening to radio, to have such a program, where ancestors who resisted and fought injustices was inspiring. The popular series which aired 1948-1950 featured the stories of: Harriett Tubman, Denmark Vesey, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, Sojourner Truth, Matthew Henson, Charles Caldwell, James Weldon Johnson and others. These African American heroes, men and women of all backgrounds and disciplines had made significant contributions not just to black people but to the nation.

Williams found the work amazing. Her initial “trepidation about [her assignment to explore] African American contributions during radio’s ‘theatre of the mind’ heyday of the 1930s and 1940s [vanished] as she listened and was “struck by [Durham’s] series’ lyricism, dramatic flair and fiery rhetoric” (xvii). The more research she did, “it was ‘oh yeah,’ he needs to be more widely known.”

Durham didn’t make it into the National Museum of African American History and Culture; however, Professor Williams’s book made it into the gift shop. He was inaugurated into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago, his hometown, where there is also a permanent exhibition, while the Chicago Public Library, which includes the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, hosts his extensive archives. This was a gift of his widow, Mrs. Clarice Davis Durham (98) who still lives in Chicago with their son, Mark, also a writer and musician.

Mentored by Langston Hughes and Chicago Defender editor-in-chief, Haitian scholar Metz T. Lochard, Durham used media as an organizing tool (54). A Depression era baby, Durham learned radio as a part of the WPA’s Illinois Writers’ Project where the rookie journalist, also a published poet and writer, “rubbed shoulders with published authors such as Arna Bontemps, Nelson Algren, and Jack Conroy. He also joined the ranks of up-and-coming writers like future Nobel Prize – winner Saul Bellow and future Pulitzer prize honoree Louis ‘Studs’ Terkel” (38). Under Bontemps, Durham authored his first IWP chapter for the Negro Press in Chicago study: Don’t Spend Money Where You Can’t Work (39).

Later in his career Durham worked as editor for “Muhammad Speaks,” the newspaper for the Nation of Islam. There he met and became friends with Muhammad Ali, whose book, “The Greatest,” he co-wrote. The book was edited by Toni Morrison, who like others has fond members of both Durham and the Champ.

The Harold Washington defeat of the entrenched Richard M. Daley machine in 1983 was in part due to the work of “Dick” Durham; however, Durham’s worked took him outside Chicago too. News clippings find Durham in San Francisco where he and W.E.B. Dubois covered the All Nations Conference in San Francisco. “Durham’s articles,” Williams states, “reflected the political posturing, turmoil and progress that eventually led to the UN’s birth” (58).

The word warrior, Williams states was “a practical optimist who analyzed the dilemmas of the day, searched for a way to bring positive social change, and inspired others to do the same. Throughout his life Richard Durham remained a dedicated warrior who used his wordsmith skills like a weapon.” It was a conscious choice. (181).

Ms. Williams will also be speaking at UC Berkeley School of Journalism, Tuesday, March 14, 6-8 p.m.  This event is presented by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) – UC Berkeley chapter.

The conversation will be moderated by Pendarvis Harshaw (MJ ’14). Click here to RSVP for the event.

Just like a Woman Returns to the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley,
Saturday, March 11, 8 p.m.

Curated by Ms. Rhonda Benin, this year’s “Just Like a Woman, a Celebration of Bay Area Women in Music” is scheduled for Saturday, March 11, 2017 at the Freight & Salvage featuring: 

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The orbit black people or Reflections on Black Bottoms

Black people operate on another frequency, an energetic system outside the normative one we’ve pledged our allegiance too.  It is time to check parachutes and make sure they open on cue. We need our own escape plan with enough water and bleach and canned goods to see us through the floods and storms—no one is coming for the Negro, not even other Negros.  People are running because they are frightened and guilty.  We walk because we have nowhere to go.  People with rooms close their front doors at twilight after guests finish their tea, rocking chairs hitting the back of limbs as arms and legs stretch as elders are assisted from their seats. We look up and realize the light or guidance we need is within.

Playwright Robert O’Hara’s work “Bootycandy,” is nothing if not outrageously provocative.  Even his humor cuts deeply.  His work is what thinking audiences desire—he impales or splays norms to a whipping post in the public opinion square then dares us to strike the first blow-his hand on the cat-o’-nine-tails.  In a rarely performed work, “Bootycandy,” directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe for a limited engagement at Brava Theatre in San Francisco, we stroll down memory lane with a chocolate boy who like Michael Jackson, theatre, literature, and boys. Misunderstood by mom, who wants a “normal” son, he finds refuge in Granny for a time and then in an older man who picks him up after school.

Raucous laughter, ’60 soul music, disco, and the black gay scene during a time when closet doors were very much closed and locked make the dichotomy between the two world strident when it need not have been.  Looking for romance with the wrong people, understanding with those who would exploit him, changes the sweet chocolate boy. He develops and edge which cuts deeply.

Thought provoking, “Bootycandy” is not dark like Woodsman (2004), more an interrogation of blackness and maleness and a juxtaposition of the artistic nuances. However, Bootycandy is also about sexuality—bodies, boobs and sex and names which do not correctly always express intention.  At the center of the work is a boy, Aejay Mitchell’s “Sutter,” growing into himself; however there are other stories or constellations in this universe where we see women giving birth, preachers coming out in the pulpit – actor, Rotimi Agababiaka, mamas, friends and Sutter’s little sister (actresses: Kehinde Koyejo; Indiia Wilmott), and a not so innocent bystander (actor Aaron Wilton) trying to box blackness up and sell it. Anything black is always marketable – talent oozes out of us as we sleep.

There is a great scene where the artists are invited to a conference where they are both audience and guests. At one point the guests turn to the moderator and tell him that the themes and topics regardless as to the characters seen on stage are always tackling the notion of blackness: the black body and how that translates along a trajectory of otherness, since a “black reality” or “peopleness” does not exist in the dominant narrative.

Audiences are intimidated by the title of the play, however, get over your fear and get to the theatre to see this brilliant production. The cast and direction, stage, lighting and soundtrack is marvelous. The evening I attended the fantastic Ms. Rhodessa Jones was in the house. Black Artists Contemporary Cultural Experience teams up with Brava! For Women in the Arts for this show which ends this Sunday, March 5. Visit https://www.brava.org/all-events/2017/2/15/bootycandy

Shola in concert @ the Black Cat Tonight!
Shola Adisa-Farrar returned home to debut her new CD, “Lost Myself” last month and if you missed her there is an encore performance at the super club: Black Cat San Francisco, 400 Eddy, Sunday, March 5, 6:30 and 7:45 p.m.  The two February gigs were sold out, not quite standing room, rather – at the Sound room in Oakland, one could lean against the wall as long as exits were not obstructed. The lovely singer was in fine form, despite her sore throat and inability to hit those high notes, Geechee just let his trumpet travel there instead as Shola kept us delighted with her stories and reflections on the music and really phenomenal voice.

She’s all well now, acclimated and ready to give us one more show for the literal road—she is off to Paris and then Nigeria and then to Congo Brazzaville.  For those unfamiliar with Shola’s artistry, perhaps you remember her from “The Ultimate Hustler” reality television show she starred in October 4-December 13, 2005 while she was in New York? Maybe you recall how much fun you had with Shola as guide in the Walking in the Spirit: Black Paris and Beyond tours while there?  No, then it had to be at the Annual International Maun Arts Festival in Burkina Faso in October, 2014 where the US Embassy Music Ambassador performed with her band and then taught songwriting and/or production workshops there and on subsequent trips in Mauritius, Burkina Faso or Cape Verde?

A global citizen, Sister Shola gets around, and it all started with a challenge. Tired of New York, the accomplished singer, songwriter, actress, decided to move to Paris in 2011 for a few months. It was just before her 26^th birthday, she writes in a book co-authored with her mom, Opal Palmer-Adisa and her sister, Teju Adisa-Farrar entitled: “Fame, Money, Power, Not Required.”
In the e-book the three women share how they came to live the lives they love. Through personal stories and practical wisdom, the enticing journey is within reach if we reflect on their 12 Credos.  “Self-Investment: Your Mental Foundation” and “Be Your Own Heroine,” are juxtaposed with “Let Your Passion Give You Wings.”  The Palmer-Adisa-Farrar women show how they kept the launch pad clear while they cultivated the wealth to finance the flight. The stories are fun and lighthearted, yet packed with examples of how these women have conjured visions of the selves they have become. Shola speaks about the fear she felt until she reframed it: “I told myself that what I feared held my greatest gift my boundless potential and ultimate power.”

Although the serendipitous aspect of “Lost Myself” can’t be denied, it didn’t hurt that Shola had been singing for a year at La Reservoir’s Sunday Jazz brunch and HOT Casa Records’ Duo DJ liked her sound and introduced the vocalist to his friend, Florian Pellissier, a Parisian pianist, composer and arranger.  Creatively, that day, Shola met her artistic soul mate. From “jazz autobiographies, swapping music and improvising together, a studio collaboration was born,” Shola writes, “in the hidden basement of Colorblind Studio on Paris’s Left Bank.”  Whether it was naughty and nice or just naughty, “Lost Myself” was born almost a year ago, April 2016. Look for an EP Remix on the one year anniversary late this spring.  Magical—“Lost Myself” gives celestial evidence to an artistic union. It’s available at Amoeba Records in Berkeley, online at sholajoy.com and at the concert.

The ten tracks feature Shola’s original work and several standards: “Feeling Good” with a new arrangement and “I Have a Dream,” a Herbie Hancock number, with Shola’s original lyrics. Florian, a New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music graduate, known for the hard-bop style he brings to his music, cites Hancock as an important musical influence.

“Lost Myself” sets a new artistic standard whether that is reflected in originals: “Evolution,” “Flow,” “Blue Chord” or one of my favorites the Fela Anikulapo Kuti cover: “Sorrow, Tears and Blood.”  The song stylist says she chose the song to honor the linguistic lineage of her Yoruba name, “Shola,” which means “one who is blessed.” STB was also chosen for its political resonance and the connection to the continent, more specifically a country, Nigeria, she will visit in April wearing her Music Ambassador hat.

Riding in on pianist Florian Pellissier and drummer Tibo Brandalise’s opening chords, the vocalist sings: “Everybody run, run, run. Everybody scatter scatter. Police dey come, army dey come. Confusion everywhere.”  The song reminds us of fear, the kind of immobilizing fear or terror that keeps one trapped or in bondage.  This work is really dynamic, Christopher Panzani’s baritone sax right there going toe to toe musically with Shola, her voice one of the instruments—

Ku Klux Klan, an Alternative Culture? Accidental Courtesy Explores this Notion

When Dr. Martin Luther King addressed the white clergy in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” Good Friday, April 3, 1963, their response was not immediate.  Critical, they questioned the necessity for direct action, civil disobedience and protest. Seated in a solitary prison cell King responds to the letter, writing on scraps of paper and then having the speech smuggled out. The issues raised by King have not disappeared, “that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” – there are still two Americas.

In the film “Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America,” dir. Matthew Ornstein, the activist quietly befriends the philosophical offspring of the white supremacists who made Dr. King’s job so hard from Bombingham to Selma. The musician’s archival cache of twenty-five robes given to him by former Ku Klux Klan officials runs counter to attorney and founder, Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson’s plans for a Lynching Memorial in Alabama’s state capital; however, there is room in the discourse on race and justice for both.

Daryl Davis, black man, holds the unique distinction of being an expert on the Ku Klux Klan, though not in the same way Mark Potok, Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, is.  No, the SPLC “doesn’t go in and have coffee,” rather it was established in 1971 to destroy or marginalize the Klan and what it upholds.

Davis, on the other hand, is often consulted by Klan friends who, not clear on their duties or obligations ask him to clarify.  The bluesman known for his boogie-woogie piano style, invited a Klansman to his wedding, and visits others in their homes. Yep, Brother Daryl has, let’s say, a different hobby, one some black folks believe is a waste of time.

California has its share of white supremacists and racists. Lee Williams’s son was hung in Concord by one, and there is a photo of a Klan march in downtown Oakland in the Oakland Museum exhibit: “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50,” (through Feb. 26). There is a robe in the showcase nearby.

We get to travel across the country with Davis as he introduces us to his people—white supremacists and racists.  The question he poses is, “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” gets him into the room. Perhaps his challenge opens the door to the beloved community Dr. King spoke of?

Davis tells us about a gig in a white bar playing country western music. At the break, he’s invited to have a drink. The patron mentions that it’s the first time he ever sat and drank with a black man. When Davis asks why, he learns that the guy is Imperial Wizard Roger Kelly.  Kelly then gives Davis his card and tells him to call him when he is in town again. Davis does. The next time his new “friend,” brings more friends and they all laugh, dance and have a good time. Davis says, when Klansmen come to party and leave their costumes at home. This was 34 years ago.

The son of an international diplomat, Davis learns about segregation and bigotry while marching in a parade with the Boy Scouts when he is ten. As he carries the American flag, bottles and cans come heralding at him. Soon the adults surround him and move him away from the fray. When he gets home and he shares how he was hurt, his mom and dad have “the talk” with him. After living abroad in many countries, Davis cannot believe someone would hate him because he is black. This lesson lies dormant until stimulated that evening in the bar.

With a KKK collection which includes pins and knives, buttons, flags and of course robes and hoods, Davis writes a book in 1998, “Klan-destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan,” which chronicles these developing relationships. He speaks to patriotic Klan members called “traditionalists,” whose credo is “the crow and the eagle are both birds, they just don’t fly together.” These KKK members do not believe in miscegenation, although, Davis’s wife is white. Traditionalists do not hate others, Frank Acona, Imperial Wizard of Missouri, says in “Accidental.” They are Christians and Americans. He also speaks to Rachel Pendergraph, National Organizer of the Knights Party and Pastor Thomas Robb, National Director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Neither budge on the issue of white supremacy.

The National Socialist Movement supports white power too and wants a separate state for white people, whom they feel are oppressed. Inspired by Hitler, Jeff Schoef, leader of the neo-Nazi group, says the first order of business is to eliminating Zionist Jews. When Davis compares the NAACP to the NSM, Schoef states the NSM is for white people. Davis then shifts to a question about music and learns Schoef likes rock, which Davis tells him was created by black people.

It was an accidental courtesy—for a moment, Kelly responded to another human being with integrity— he saw a black man, whose music he enjoyed and he wanted to show his appreciation.  And then he noticed himself sitting with this man at the table and was like wow.  Davis probably could not have predicted the trajectory a drink with Kelly would take him on, but three decades later he is still on the road. Outside of W. Kamau Bell’s CNN hit: “United Shades of America,” not many black men have tea with Grand Dragons at the top of their “to-do lists.” Nonetheless, Davis’s query and face to face interactions make these white supremacists and racists critique their positions, and after reflection find racial hatred without merit. Scott Shepherd, former Grand Dragon, now Reformed Racist, has dedicated his life to undoing racism. This is one of many reasons why Davis has so many robes.

The humanitarian continues to sit across the table from men who hate him. He is patient, and lets the men talk. In his reaching across the aisle, Davis has opened a necessary dialogue. Funny, how racists have a megaphone while descendants of formerly enslaved Africans have no platform, no reparations—economic or philosophical. Davis challenges the white supremacist ideology spewed forth without thought. Within this context the audience witnesses the complete absence of thought of concern for the token black man seated in front of them. The white supremacists might not hate Davis, at the end of the dialogue, but there is no curiosity expressed. It is all about them and their loss, not the collective loss on both sides.

When Davis tries to translate his work within the Black Lives Matter (#BLM) paradigm, it fails. Not only is he disrespectful of the work young people like Tariq Touré, poet, author, and Kwame Ross, #BLM activist and speaker, are engaged in to save black lives, he calls the youth names and fails to see how at the heart of police brutality and use of force is the legacy of slavery and at its legal conclusion, the birth of the Ku Klux Klan, Dec. 24, 1865 – a gang that continues its legacy of terror today. When Ross asks Davis if he knows anything about trauma, the kind of intergenerational trauma a Klan History Museum might trigger in black visitors, he has no answer.  The efficacy of Davis’s work is challenged, perhaps something he not used to.  Black people are not his audience, which is okay. We just need to be clear about it.

The reason why Trump won the election was because white identity felt and continues to feel threatened; Davis acknowledges this and gives these men and women and children space to speak. In a democracy all voices supposedly have a right to be heard; however, we know there is censorship within the discourse. We also know the dominate narrative is shaped by white power not popular opinion. In some ways, Davis plays into this with “Accidental.” Nonetheless, one robe at a time, this man is unraveling a thread stitched into this often contentious tapestry called the United States of America. The film will be available online beginning Feb. 14 at pbs.org