Arts and Culture
Film “Wounded Places” Sheds Light on Effects of PTSD on Children
In an effort to engage the community in a conversation around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its affects on children living in impoverished circumstances, the film “Wounded Places: Confronting Childhood PTSD in America’s Shell-Shocked Cities” was recently screened at Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, sharing stories of survivors of trauma.
The film is part of the forthcoming documentary series, “The Raising of America: Early Childhood and the Future of Our Nation.” The documentary poses a question to children who have been shattered by violence and adversity: “What happened to you?” not “What’s wrong with you?”
The April 29 screening was presented by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, First 5 Alameda County, Alameda County Public Health Department and Youth Uprising.
The film conveyed that PTSD, a commonly used term with soldiers of war, is now something that far too many inner-city children experience.
One survivor spoke of witnessing her brother being shot in the head beside her and recalled the warmth of the blood on her hand as she tried to stop the gushing wound. Unbelievably, her trauma continued when she herself was shot and endured five surgeries to reconstruct her face.
Youth experience nightmares, flashbacks, hyper vigilance, sudden rages, depression, mood swings and night sweats, the film revealed. It also demonstrated that exposure to trauma leads to a change in brain architecture, development, language, the ability to focus and organize thoughts.
Doctors further explained that war usually ends, but depressed communities and victims without adequate opportunities for equity are left with “Constant” Traumatic Stress Disorder (CTSD).
Olis Simmons, president of Youth Uprising in East Oakland who is interviewed in the film, discusses how entire communities across America are disconnected generationally from labor markets with a lack of jobs, unemployment or underemployment.
“With decades of divestment and genocide, we need our stories told,” said Sikander Iqbal, Youth Uprising Chief of Staff, at a panel discussion following the screening.
Children’s Hospital President and CEO Bert Lubin said, “The health care system is ‘upside down’ and focused on illness – health is prevention and wellness, health is a job, health is having enough money to live on each month, health is access to food, health is appropriate housing.”
“Our mission is to make Children’s Hospital number one and Oakland a model for the rest of the nation for health care,” Lubin said.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf attended and commended guest speakers and film participants, which included Caheri Gutiérrez, Javier Arango and Kenny Ray Johnson, who suffers from PTSD. While Gutiérrez and Arango serve as trauma prevention counselors, Johnson – who was shot two years ago and left wheelchair-bound – proudly stood before the audience.
“I appreciate my parents and the support of the community, now I am able to stand,” Johnson said proudly.
Mayor Schaaf said, “You are my inspiration for continuing to lead, on the political level, this healing movement in Oakland.”
For more information about the documentary and national campaign, visit www.raisingofamerica.org.
Arts and Culture
Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
By Post Staff
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.
Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.
Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.
Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.
Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”
Arts and Culture
Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
By Barbara Fluhrer
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.
One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.
At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.
Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.
Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”
Arts and Culture
Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”
World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).
By Conway Jones
World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.
Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).
“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.
In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.
Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.
“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.
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