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AfroComicCon offers a platform for diversity in pop culture

NNPA NEWSWIRE — One relatively unsung product of Oakland’s liberal sway is the founder of the annual AfroComicCon, Michael James. Now in its third iteration, AfroComicCon is a three-day event showcasing comic books and pop culture related to (but assuredly not limited to) the African Diaspora.

Published

7 years ago

November 17, 2019

Oakland Post

“(Convention-goers can) come away with a sense of ownership and collaboration.” —AfroComicCon founder Michael James. (Photo: Afro ComicCon)

By Gregg Reese, Our Weekly Contributor, with additional reporting by Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

The Bay Area is the most progressive bastion of the historically liberal state of California (although the sweep towards gentrification may soon turn the political tide in the opposite direction) and none of the cities and towns within it upholds the standard of progressiveness higher than the East Bay municipality of Berkeley.

One relatively unsung product of its liberal sway is the founder of the annual AfroComicCon, Oakland’s Michael James. Now in its third iteration, AfroComicCon is a three-day event showcasing comic books and pop culture related to (but assuredly not limited to) the African Diaspora.

The event is held in the cities of Oakland and neighboring Emeryville, California and aims to be an inclusive entity as opposed to other, similar conventions geared towards special groups and demographics. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization affiliated with the Oakland Technology and Education Center.

Comic book conventions showcase comic books and related areas of entertainment, and feature exhibits, panels, and features of interest.

Initially, low-brow affairs concentrating solely on comics and special interest groups (the first San Diego Comic-Con was held in a hotel basement with perhaps 300 people in 1970), these “cons” have mushroomed to multi-genre affairs drawing tens of thousands of participants and showcasing gaming, sci-fi, horror, and other facets of pop culture.

Film and television companies use these venues to showcase their wares and gauge public response to shows prior to general release.

Monetarily, they are a financial windfall, generating millions in revenue and contributing significantly to the surrounding community’s economy. A major component of these events is the practice of cosplay, in which fans dress up as their favorite superheroes and animated characters.

Growing Pains

The story behind AfroComicCon can be traced back to the roots of its founder. James came up under the sway of Oakland’s Allen Temple Baptist Church and its progressive pastor, the Rev. J. Alfred Smith, Sr. Among the luminaries passing through its portals were former Congressman and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, and civil rights activists the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

The seeds of social liberalism firmly planted, young James graduated from UC Davis, with a bachelor’s in Environmental Planning to begin his tenure in corporate America, a period he found stifling and restrictive.

The millennium era found him politicized through work with various non-profit concerns and travels overseas where he participated in the 2007 release of South African dissident Nelson Mandela. These events were intertwined by his work to promote computer literacy among the Bay Area’s disadvantaged during a period where he became disenchanted with the educational system’s methodology in distributing state and federal funding to the community. During this time, he had been involved in a successful literacy program under the umbrella of UC Berkeley.

The experience soured him, however, as he saw how the non-profit apparatus worked. He did quite well with the $850,000 allotted to his program until he found out it was just part of the $7 million the university was receiving over a seven-year period.

A series of discussions he had with like-minded people, and a chance visit to the San Diego Comi-con (the benchmark for all such gatherings), spawned the nucleus of what would become the AfroComicCon, a platform in which to promote reading through graphic novels, comic books, and other paraphernalia.

Supporting him and co-founding AfroComicCon with him since the beginning has been a kindred spirit and fellow Berkeley High School alum, Hally Bellah-Guther.

A career professional dancer in the United States and in Europe, Bellah-Guther, who has taught ballet and fitness locally for 20 years, was a passionate volunteer and board member of D.U.S.T.Y. (Oakland Technology & Education Center) and had been Michael’s partner working on literacy and arts programs since 2012. She caught the bug and became completely devoted to the project. She has been overseeing every aspect of AfroComicCon since prepping for the first year because it combined two passions of hers: the arts and the fight against injustice and inequity.

By 2017, they’d secured enough funding to compile a shoestring budget, and they were ready to mount the first tentative steps towards realizing the vision.

The Chance for Inclusion

They had no intention of replicating the success of the decades-old Comic-con (convention-goers this past summer for that event reached in excess of 130,000), but in their inaugural staging, they attracted some 400 to 500 attendees, a more than respectable gathering, considering their resources and financial limitations.

Among the notables on hand to greet visitors were special effects wizard Christa Burton (“Iron Man,” “The Lone Ranger,” and “Transformers”); movie producer and Vice President of Programming at BOUNCE TV Ri-Karlo Handy; Sifu Kisu martial arts choreographer for Avatar: The Last Air Bender; Power Rangers, and other major motion pictures; and television writer Ty Scott (“CSI: Miami” and “Saints and Sinners”).

“Everyone has a story and we can all be superheroes in our own right,” says James, as an explanation for the interest in this new and novel venue for popular culture.

Attendance for the next calendar year 2018 increased to 1000 plus. Among those appearing for the 2019 AfroComicCon were writer/producer Rodney Barnes (“American Gods,” “The Boondocks,” “Everybody Hates Chris, “ and the upcoming “Wu-Tang: An American Saga”); spoken word poet, street lit author and UC Berkeley professor Aya de Leon; and actress Onika Day (“Orange is the New Black,” “Wu-Tang: An American Saga”).

In keeping with AfroComicCon’s pledge of inclusion, guests consisted of Lebanese director of photography Jean-Claude Kalache of Pixar, and Vietnamese American filmmaker and theater director Khai Thu Nguyen (who helped judge the film competition).

As in past years, the convention sought to provide a wide variety of educational and interactive experiences meant to engage the whole family. These included a fashion show mounted by Jasline Berry (fashionista and Afro-renaissance woman) and James Head (costume designer for rapper M.C. Hammer), promotion by and about the gaming industry, and other venues to prompt event-goers to, in James’ words, “move away from commercialism that doesn’t support us.”

FLASH- Fit Like A Super Hero- which was spearheaded by Bellah-Guther since 2018, includes multi-disciplines to encourage the public to engage in healthier lifestyles through physical activity and healthy diets. A notable component in this is a demonstration of Brazilian martial arts, Malandro Mandingo: The Body Magic of Capoeira. There has also been Hip Hop and Turf Dance, Worldbeat/Salsa and Kung fu demos and classes and performances.

An attendee who has transitioned from volunteer to active participation, comic book creator and graphic artist “Sketch” Smith now serves as AfroComicCon’s art director, web designer, and all-around gadfly.

“I try to help out in any capacity that I can,” she says.

An attendee of similar events prior to joining AfroComicCon, she notes that they were generally slanted towards a heterosexual White male demographic, to the exclusion of minorities and women.

A Bay Area transplant who is opening up her own brick and mortar book store (“Hella Novella” at 2301 Mission Street in San Francisco), Smith sees this undertaking as a sanctuary for “geeks” like herself who have never fit in at any of the other conventions she’s attended as the “odd person out.” It is a relief from the overwhelming xenophobia she’s experienced as a Black woman, and she cherishes the shared cultural experience that AfroComicCon offers (for more on Sketch, visit http://www.sketchsmith.com/).

Inclusion for Everyone

“(Convention-goers can) come away with a sense of ownership and collaboration.”
—AfroComicCon founder Michael James.

While AfroComicCon takes place within the confines of the Bay Area and is primarily meant, in the words on its Facebook page, “…to empower artists who have been denied access to equal opportunity,” everyone cordially received an invite.

For more information, visit the website at www.afrocomiccon.org or call (510) 333-9653.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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3 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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3 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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3 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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