Arts and Culture
African American Vintners Showcased in Black Vines Event
Black Vines: A Toast to Black Wineries, Black Art and Black Culture held their 12th anniversary event on Saturday, Feb. 25 at The Bridgeyard, near the Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline in Oakland. It is the longest-running African American winemaker showcase.
By Carla Thomas
Black Vines: A Toast to Black Wineries, Black Art and Black Culture held their 12th anniversary event on Saturday, Feb. 25 at The Bridgeyard, near the Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline in Oakland. It is the longest-running African American winemaker showcase.
Hundreds of guests gathered to celebrate and enjoy a live jazz band while sampling wines and buffets of gourmet bites throughout the venue.
The brainchild of founder Fern Stroud, the event is designed to both promote and support the Black wine experience along with good food and great music.
Stroud, a former Silicon Valley technology professional says, “Black Vines, is a way to bridge gaps and build lifelong ties between community, business and the arts while we celebrate Black excellence.”
Proceeds from the event supports the nonprofit think tank, BlackFemaleProject.org.
Stroud was also excited to announce a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. In the new “Wines Fly Free” program, guests were able to bring cases of wine on their flights back home for free. Also, the McBride Sisters wines are now a featured option on flights with Alaska Airlines.
Winemakers and vintners at Black Vines included Free Range Flower Winery, Wachira Wines, She Wines, Vintnoir, P. Harrell, and Bass Note Sangria, among others.
“We see this event as an extension of their collective and independent outreach efforts to increase awareness, visibility and market demand for these labels. Our core mission is to provide a tasting experience unlike any other. There has been a steady loyalty factor born out of our Black Vines annual event.”
Additional Black Vine partners include Wine Direct, an industry-leading direct-to-consumer platform; the NAACP x BeyGOOD Black-Owned Small Business Impact Fund for winery empowerment, and She Can, which provides grants and services via the McBride Sisters wine brand.
For Stroud, building economic pathways in the industry will strengthen the business of Black vintners, and ensure sustainability for their community.
“These strategic alliances further establish our desire to provide a consumer touchpoint for wineries to be introduced to a new consumer base. The future success of wineries, going forward, will be heavily dependent upon the experiences created for new potential customers.”
For every event, Stroud, says spreading love is key. “With all that we do for Black Vines, love is at the heart of it, and we want our guests and patrons to feel every bit of that.”
For more information visit: www.BlackVines.net
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.
Arts and Culture
Musical Chronicling Life of Betty Reid Soskin Set for Bay Area Debut
Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.
The Richmond Standard
Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.
“Sign My Name to Freedom,” a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) production which will focus on the life, music and writing of Ms. Soskin, will premiere at San Francisco’s Z Space Friday, March 29 and continue through Saturday, April 13. Tickets range from $15–$65 and can be purchased online at https://www.sfbatco.org/smntf
The musical is directed by Elizabeth Carter, while playwright Michael Gene Sullivan integrates Ms. Soskin’s own music throughout dialogue between what SFBATCO calls “The Four Bettys” as they progress through a century of experiences of this awe-inspiring American woman.
The cast of “Sign My Name to Freedom” features Tierra Allen as Little Betty, Aidaa Peerzada as Married Betty, Lucca Troutman as Revolutionary Betty and Cathleen Riddley as Present Betty Reid Soskin, according to Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and Managing Director Adam Maggio. Other casting will be announced in the future.
Jackson said that having Soskin’s blessing to steward her life’s story is an honor and career highlight for him and that her journey stands as “a beacon for Black Americans, women and people of color all across the world [and] is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.”
San Francisco’s Z Space is located at 450 Florida St. in San Francisco. Check out the trailer here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ap9N2XBB0
Arts and Culture
Gov. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Host 2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony
Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8. The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.
By California Black Media
Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8.
The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.
“The California Hall of Fame is one of our families’ favorite traditions as it is a time to come together to celebrate remarkable Californians as well as their loved ones because we know that it is about partnerships,” Siebel Newsom said. “The governor likes to say that California is a dream factory because it doesn’t matter what zip code or background you come from, the California dream is alive and well to everyone who calls this state home.”
The other Black honorees were filmmaker Ava DuVernay; Federal Judge and civil rights leader, the Hon. Thelton Henderson; and basketball Hall of Fame player and broadcaster Cheryl Miller.
“It’s what I’ve been waiting for and to be among a great group of individuals that also deserve the honor,” Brown told California Black Media on the event’s red carpet before the ceremony began. “No, I never thought someone from Texas would be recognized this way. But here I am, and it all happened in the great state of California. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
Other 2024 inductees are: master chef and “mother of fusion cuisine” Helene An; computer scientist and “father of the internet” Vincent A. Cerf; all-female pop punk band The Go-Gos; Chicano Rock band Los Lobos; former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Congressman Leon E. Panetta; and artistic director and choreographer Brenda Way.
This year’s honorees join a history-making club with over 150 inspirational Californians previously inducted for their groundbreaking achievements and personifying the state’s innovative spirit.
“It’s just a humbling experience. I want to thank the Governor and First Partner. Who would have thought 100 years ago (that I would be inducted?) It’s incredible,” Miller said after her induction. “I want to thank the governor and First Partner for an incredible event.”
During his acceptance speech, Henderson said he was deeply honored.
“You know, it really would have been a really big deal to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the area where I grew up, for example, South Central Hall of Fame, or the Watts Hall of Fame, or the Straight Out of Compton Hall of Fame,” he said. “But being inducted into the California Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame of the greatest state in the country in this great nation is something else.”
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