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Classic African American Culture Series Rediscovered

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By Beth Tagawa, SFSU News

In 1968, Mwanza Furaha was a Bay Area dancer and singer just getting her feet wet as a performer. She auditioned for a television program about African American culture and heritage and felt incredibly lucky to land a prominent role. But it was only years later that she realized just how lucky she was to have had the chance to work closely with the show’s writer, producer and host: poet Maya Angelou.

“I was young and honing my craft, and I was grateful to know her,” Furaha said. “But it wasn’t until later on I understood how important she was to America.” By the time Furaha had grasped the significance of her experience and wanted to see the show again, it was nowhere to be found.

Furaha was not the only one to search for the series. Angelou herself wanted to see it but could not track it down. And then there was Alex Cherian, San Francisco State University’s resident film archivist.

In 2009, Cherian was reviewing film canisters in SF State’s Bay Area Television Archive, considering options for a digitization project — footage that would see the light of day rather than remaining buried on a shelf. A can scrawled with the name “Angelou” caught his attention. “That was all I had,” Cherian said. “I was hoping that it featured Maya Angelou, but I had no idea.”

This discovery led Cherian on a five-year search that has resulted in a boon for African American television history. Cherian has recovered and made public the full 10-part Angelou series “Blacks, Blues, Black!” — which went unseen for decades.

Filmed at the KQED studios in San Francisco, the program was produced and hosted by Angelou, the influential poet, actor and author, best known for her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The series examines the influence of African American culture on American society, with episodes exploring dance traditions, history, art, literature and music (including an interview with blues legend B.B. King).

The footage fragment Cherian found was part of the collection SF State had recovered from local TV stations and is now hosted at SF State’s J. Paul Leonard Library. “In the early ’80s, most stations started dumping film, thousands and thousands of cans,” Cherian said. “When interested parties realized what they were doing, SF State said, ‘Don’t throw it away! Give it to us.’ That’s why we had this can — sometime in the 1980s someone at KQED grabbed it off a shelf and said, ‘Send it to State.'”

 

But the canister contained only 17 minutes of footage. After seeing this fragment, Cherian embarked on a quest to find the rest of the series. “Maya Angelou — one of the great minds of our time — made an entire series about African American heritage,” Cherian recalled thinking. “Why isn’t it available? It makes no sense.”

And nobody knew where it was. “We didn’t have it, KQED didn’t have it, none of the college libraries that I contacted had it,” Cherian said. “I kind of gave up after two or three years because I was hitting a brick wall. I knew a lot of material from that period had been destroyed.”

Then, about a year ago, he contacted the Library of Congress as a last-ditch effort, and a staffer there immediately responded with good news: The Library had the full series on two-inch video, the original broadcast format. After Cherian figured out that the rights to the series were owned by KQED, the station agreed that it could be made available on SF State’s digital video archive, hosted by the Digital Video Information Archive (DIVA).

In May 2014, Cherian contacted Maya Angelou’s office manager, who had been searching for the series for 10 years at Angelou’s request, to let her know it would be digitized and made public. “She sent me an email back saying that Maya Angelou was ‘over the moon,'” Cherian said. “That was unfortunately two weeks before she passed on.”

Cherian believes the series can be appreciated by modern viewers both because of Angelou’s impressive storytelling talent and the program’s continued cultural relevance. “I personally found a lot of what she’s saying, when you remove the specific figures from the time, is still relevant,” Cherian said. “But I want other folks to see it and judge for themselves. Some might watch it and think, ‘Oh dear.’ Others might watch it and think, ‘That’s amazing.'”

 

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).

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(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.
(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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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Willie Brown, Former California Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor, was proud to be among the Hall of Fame inductees. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.
Willie Brown, Former California Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor, was proud to be among the Hall of Fame inductees. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

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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