Arts and Culture

Airbnb Adds Black Adventures to Travel Platform

Published

6 years ago

March 21, 2018

Photo Caption: Panelists of Airbnb’s “The Evolution of Black Travel” at MoAD, Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. (left to right) Janaye Ingram, Airbnb National Director of Partnerships, Laura Murphy, President of Laura Murphy and Associates – Senior Advisor to Airbnb, Derrick Johnson, National President of the NAACP, Evita Robinsion, CEO Nomadness Travel Tribe.

Airbnb hosted, “The Evolution of Black Travel,” a panel discussion at the Museum of the African Diaspora last month to disucssion the history and impact of Black travelers. Moderated by Airbnb’s National Director of Partnerships, Janaye Ingram, the discussion sought to share a rare snapshot of the history of Black travelers in the United States. Speakers included Derrick Jackson, National President of the NAACP, Laura Murphy, President of Laura Murphy & Associates, Senior Advisor to Airbnb, and Nomadness Travel Tribe’s CEO,Evita Robinson.

Panelists discussed the fact that during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras, Black people used the Green Book, a travel guide that provided safe places and areas to avoid, due to racism and discrimination. The book cited “Sundown Towns,” which implied Black people were not welcome beyond the sunset and could be a target if met with violence and even death at the hands of white citizens, mobs, and police, with no recourse. “Through the generations travel options for Black has changed dramatically from being restricted due to historical racism and now being able to fly all over the world with options such as Airbnb,” said Murphy.

Panelist Evita Robinson, CEO of Nomadness, shared her travel platform and new partnership with Airbnb. Robinson spoke of how her interests in traveling the world had now grown into a movement that the global travel industry now has to recognize. “Millennial are traveling the world and exploring in new ways, this new generation of travelers are a force to be reckoned with,” she said.

In the coming months, in partnership with the Museum of the African Diaspora and Nomadness Travel Tribe, Airbnb will launch a series of new Experiences, which will shine a light on Black communities and become a source of economic empowerment for hosts and their local communities around the world. The Nomadness Experiences will span Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Mexico City, and London.

“Our goal at Nomadness is to show the world that your ability to travel should never be limited by your race, gender, religious, or economic background. Airbnb is helping us make this dream a reality — and we couldn’t be more excited for the Experiences we’re building together,” said Robinson.

The Airbnb Experienced at the MOAD will allow guests to make art with the guidance of local San Francisco artists representing the African Diaspora. “We’re so excited to be working with Airbnb to help build a deeper understanding of the African Diaspora through our Airbnb Experience — which will combine contemporary art, programs, and events to show how interconnected all of our personal histories really are,” said Mark Sabb, Director and Marketing and Communications for MoAD Sabb.

Airbnb’s National Director of Partnerships, Janaye Ingram, is equally excited about the new program. “Nomadness and the Museum of the African Diaspora explore and embrace Blackness across continents and connect the stories of Black people from around the world,” said Ingram. “I’m more excited every day about the Experiences they are bringing to our platform that will share their unique narratives and culture with others.”

New Airbnb platform Experiences, organized and led by Black hosts include learning how to DJ and mix music with DJ Lamont in San Francisco, a cultural brunch in Los Angeles, and a postcard scavenger hunt in Oakland. On the east coast, a shopping excursion with a fashion anthropologist in Harlem and a poetry workshop in the home of Langston Hughes in New York are also new travel adventures on the platform.

Oakland Post

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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.

Published

23 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Dr. Carl Blake

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.”

Oakland Post

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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).

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

(L-R) Del Handy, John Handy, Roger Glenn, and Joe Warner celebrate John Handy Day at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, Oakland. Photo by Lady Bianca.

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.

Oakland Post

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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.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Betty Reid Soskin. Photo courtesy of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond.

The Richmond Standard

“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