Art

‘JQA’ Sheds New Light on Life of John Quincy Adams

WASHINGTON INFORMER — The world premiere of “JQA,” a fictitious tale written and directed by Aaron Posner about the life of the eighth secretary of state and the sixth president of the U.S., John Quincy Adams, presents a challenging perspective on American history that continues to affect the nation some 150 years after his death.

Published

7 years ago

March 23, 2019

Oakland Post

By D. Kevin McNeir

The world premiere of “JQA,” a fictitious tale written and directed by Aaron Posner about the life of the eighth secretary of state and the sixth president of the U.S., John Quincy Adams, presents a challenging perspective on American history that continues to affect the nation some 150 years after his death.

The play continues at the Arena Stage through April 14 and while Posner succeeds in his goal to help us “look at today through the lens of yesterday,” one has to wonder why he felt compelled to tackle the life of a privileged son of a former president whose intellectual prowess failed him in his role as a father, husband and as a leader who could have done so much more to promote and secure the abolition of slavery.

History may have little positive to say about Adams (1767-1848) but Posner’s energetic dialogue, presented with great aplomb by a talented, four-member cast, maintains the action from start to finish, the result being a production well worth the price of admission.

In addition, Posner, following a casting decision recently-employed within today’s theatrical world, allows each of the four actors, Jacqueline Correa, Eric Hissom, Phyllis Kay and Joshua David Robinson, to portray Adams, race and gender notwithstanding — later changing their roles in the portrayal of historical figures of great significance each of whom lived during his lifetime including his wife, Louisa, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson and Frederick Douglass.

Native Washingtonian Joshua David Robinson, stellar in his roles as Jackson and the heralded abolitionist Douglass, said his desire to become an actor developed during his youth due to tremendous experiences, opportunities and resources provided by the District and his encouraging family.

“DC is a rich environment and a fertile ground for creativity and debate that has long allowed its youth to take advantage of its resources — from summer camp at the Smithsonian to seeing actors on stage presenting the classics of Shakespeare to musicals like ‘Phantom of the Opera’ which blew my mind when I first saw it as a child at the Kennedy Center,” he said. “Those experiences opened my eyes and my mind in ways that I’m still discovering today.”

“The theater is a place for community — a gathering point where people go to voluntarily have a shared and often emotional experience with strangers. I’ve found this fact to be truly awesome. If actors do their job effectively, the community leaves the theater differently from the way they entered. In ‘JQA,’ the cast is given the opportunity to step into the soul of a white man who profoundly affected this country which each of us call home.”

“I learned a great deal about Adams while preparing for the show. JQA was a fascinating guy and a member of a political dynasty in an era where votes for office were more often argued for than bought. What struck me most about him though was his spirit. He was a man of unimpeachable, unyielding and unforgiving integrity — a quality that allowed him to achieve great heights but also doomed him to a life of little happiness.”

“By changing roles as a cast member, I discovered once again that representation is powerful — in this play it helps claim our shared history. I believe audiences will leave the theatre with a sense that everyone can make a difference in this country and the world and that significance isn’t reserved for only a select few. It’s for all of us.”

Robinson, now living in Brooklyn, said he could have never anticipated being cast as Andrew Jackson, but loved the chance.

“It may not be my dream role, that is, if such a role has even been written — one that I may have to write myself one day — but it was a real pleasure and joy,” he said. “Who would have thought that I’d have the opportunity to explore someone who’s vastly different from me? It was really exciting.”

As for youth who hope to cut their teeth one day as professional thespians, Robinson, who completed studies at NYU in the MFA graduate program, says one has to “love being an actor.”

“There’s no formula for success,” he said. “The truth is you have to understand that being an actor has no guarantees. I have found it to be exhilarating and challenging. But I really can’t express in words how much being an actor means to me, particularly as it has given me the chance to serve as a vehicle for social change. But it’s a sacrifice, not only for the actor but for those who love and care about you. That’s why I am deliberate in the projects I choose. I want to always honor the sacrifices my loved ones and I have made that allowed me to perfect my craft and to pursue my dreams.”

“JQA” continues through April 14 at Arena Stage in Southwest. For tickets, call 202-488-3300 or go to www.arenastage.org.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

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Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Oakland Director Boots Dazzles Once Again in ‘I Love Boosters’

Riley’s creative output is influenced by progressive ideals. His work, which includes six albums, the 2018 film “Sorry to Bother You,” and the 2023 comedy series “I’m a Virgo,” always shows that the alienation working-class people feel is inevitable under capitalism, he recently told The Guardian.

Published

3 weeks ago

June 10, 2026

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Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Keke Palmer star in “I Love Boosters” playing now in theaters. Directed by Oakland resident Boots Riley. Image courtesy of Neon.

“I feel lonely,” Keke Palmer’s character Corvette says in the first few minutes “I Love Boosters,” the new comedy adventure film from Oakland-based director Boots Riley.

“I wish I could feel lonely,” Naomi Ackie’s character Sade responds. “Try having kids.”

“I Love Boosters” teems with kaleidoscopic colors, sharp playful social critique, otherworldly plot twists, and fast-paced action, but it’s grounded in its main characters’ simple and relatable motivations: They want to be less isolated, and more free to pursue their own creative endeavors.

They’d like to design clothes and run a fashion boutique, but, unfortunately, they’re mostly busy surviving. Corvette and Sade, along with Mariah, played by Taylour Page, hustle and scheme through their brilliant scrappy organized crime group, the Velvet Gang. The gang regularly boosts clothes in the Bay Area and sells them at discounted prices.

Riley portrays the gang in a positive light in “I Love Boosters,” echoing the sentiment and title of a song he recorded 20 years ago with his hip-hop band, The Coup, where he praises boosters for providing poor communities with nice clothes they can afford: like a Robin Hood of the ’hood. But while morally righteous, materially, the gang is troubled. Corvette is haunted by unpaid bills and fears getting kicked out of the building where she squats, a shuttered fast-food chicken joint.

One thing that separates Riley’s film from most others about criminal gangs is that the Velvet Gang’s members work for a living. Theirs isn’t a greedy fantasy of becoming filthy rich, or for one last hit: Boosting is a job that still doesn’t pay nearly enough.

Visually, the film is a mix of psychedelia, afro-surrealism, noir, and perhaps a comic book.

The villain, Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore, an evil genius billionaire and fashion designer who runs the expensive clothing company the gang boosts from. She repeatedly appears on the news to put a target on the Velvet Gang members’ backs. When the gang ends up connecting with those who Christie directly exploits –workers here in the Bay Area, but also those in sweatshops overseas– the fight against Christie can commence; and uncoincidentally, Corvette starts to feel less lonely.

I don’t want to say much about that fight, but it’s delightful. Sci-Fi elements (which appear connected to Marxist theory) enter into the narrative to tie what’s become a pretty scatterbrained story together. Grounded by Palmer’s acting, “I Love Boosters” is a total joy and a refreshing break from the typical narratives we see these days. It’s totally over-the-top, but it knows it is.

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After 10-Year Wait, Fillmore Heritage Center Reopens in San Francisco

After serving as the economic and cultural hub of the Fillmore’s historically Black community for more than a decade, the center’s closure ended what was called the “Rebirth of the Cool,” referring to the neighborhood’s role during the height of Black Jazz in the United States.

Published

3 weeks ago

June 10, 2026

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Rev. Amos Brown of Third Baptist Church addresses community members at the Fillmore Heritage Center ribbon cutting. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington, Special to The Post

Last Saturday morning, the cloudy skies cleared just as the highly anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony began, marking the reopening of the Fillmore Heritage Center at 1330 Fillmore and Eddy.

The complex – which had once included Yoshi’s Jazz Club, the Lush Life Art Gallery, the Koret Heritage Lobby, a 54-seat microcinema, and the Black-owned 1300 On Fillmore restaurant – shuttered in 2015.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announcing the reopening of the Fillmore Heritage Center. Erika Scott, owner of Honey Art Studio, looks on with pride. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

“The Fillmore is the most important neighborhood in San Francisco’s history for centering Black culture, music, business, and community, and has shaped this City and influenced the entire country,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to the gathering of more than 100 community leaders, business owners, and public officials. “This building reflects the deep roots of the Fillmore. Urban renewal left deep scars that are still felt today. This Center celebrates a strong Black community that continues to shape San Francisco. I am proud to join the community as we reopen the Fillmore Heritage Center.”

Although the previous stakeholders will not be returning to the center, spaces are available for nonprofit organizations and ventures, such as Fillmore native Ericka Johnson’s Honey Art Studio.

“This Center will be an economic engine and a thriving venue that shines a light on the Black-owned businesses in this neighborhood and lifts the entire district,” Lurie continued. “Our City is committed to this community for the long term.”

“We’re excited to collaborate with the City to finally reopen these doors,” said Ken Johnson, a videographer and community leader who’d been lobbying for the reopening of the center. “It’s an opportunity to showcase the entrepreneurship and creative spirit of this ‘Harlem of the West’ and the ‘Rebirth of the Cool,’ grounded in our uniquely gifted Fillmore community.”

This month, through its Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the city will begin renting the building’s noncommercial spaces for pop-up events celebrating local talent, arts, and entertainment primarily centered in the Fillmore.