Arts and Culture

The Harlem Renaissance: A Cultural Awakening

The likes of Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, and Florence Mills brought talent to the stages of theaters in Harlem and beyond. Publishing houses, particularly Alfred A. Knopf, Harcourt Brace, and Boni & Liveright, opened their doors to Black authors. The African American experience was being documented, sparking the birth of new literary traditions.

Published

3 years ago

February 14, 2022

Oakland Post

Three Harlem women, The Gay Northeasterners photo by James Van Der Zee, c. 1930. Courtesy Donna Van Der Zee.

By Tamara Shiloh

The 1920s was a decade of general liberation. Change was taking place throughout pockets of Black America, and New York City’s Harlem was at the helm.

It was there that Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong flooded nightclubs with the sounds of jazz. Literary talents including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Willis Richardson penned poetry and prose and stage plays reflecting the Black experience. Augusta Savage created sculptures and opened doors for other Black artists. She would later establish the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts and become one of Harlem’s most influential teachers.

Harlem’s streets bustled around the clock as its population swelled. A movement was on the rise. A cohort of talented African Americans was finally being noticed. The Harlem Renaissance, described by some historians as “the golden age in African American culture,” was in full swing.

Meanwhile, significant cultural activity was brewing in Washington DC, Chicago, and Boston.

While the renaissance was not confined to Harlem, it was a magnet for intellect and talent and served as the symbolic capital of this cultural awakening. During the 1880s, Harlem had been a neighborhood for upper-class Whites. By the early 1900s, overdevelopment led to empty buildings. Owners were losing money and had to fill them. This meant renting to Blacks.

A few middle-class Black families from the Black Bohemia neighborhood moved to Harlem. Others quickly followed. From unskilled laborers to the educated middle-class, Harlem at that time boasted the largest concentration of Blacks in the world. All along, angry White residents fought back but failed, eventually deserting the area. This population shift would lead to a Black Pride movement.

The Harlem Renaissance was a phase of a larger New Negro movement that emerged in the early 20th century. The New Negro Movement of the 1920s promoted a renewed sense of racial pride, cultural self-expression, economic independence, and progressive politics. But this pride in and control over how the Black experience was represented began to fizzle out with the stock market crash of 1929 and The Great Depression.

In 1933, when Prohibition ended, White patrons no longer sought out the illegal alcohol in Harlem’s clubs. This forced many entrepreneurs and other residents to look for work as the population continued to increase. The Harlem Race Riot of 1935 broke out following rumors of the arrest and beating of a young shoplifter. This was the death of the golden age.

The Harlem Renaissance changed how America and the world viewed African American culture. It was a time of optimism and revitalization, and its impact remains alive today.

To learn more about the golden age in African American culture, read Nathan Irvin Huggins’ “Harlem Renaissance.”

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Arts and Culture

San Jose Jazz Fest ‘24: Fun, Food and an Unforgettable Frankie Beverly Farewell

SAN JOSE — The sounds of summer echoed through the heart of town during the 3-day-long San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024, held Aug. 9 – 11. Multiple stages hosted a variety of iconic performers such as Incognito; local favorites like Tia Carroll; and trailblazers such as Herbie Hancock. Guests enjoyed dozens of vendors featuring art, gifts, and clothing. Tasty bites included flame-grilled barbeque, seafood and a variety of desserts

Published

16 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Frankie Beverly performing at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024. Photo Courtesy of Frankie Beverly.

By Carla Thomas

SAN JOSE — The sounds of summer echoed through the heart of town during the 3-day-long San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024, held Aug. 9 – 11.

Multiple stages hosted a variety of iconic performers such as Incognito; local favorites like Tia Carroll; and trailblazers such as Herbie Hancock.

Guests enjoyed dozens of vendors featuring art, gifts, and clothing. Tasty bites included flame-grilled barbeque, seafood and a variety of desserts.

Oakland entrepreneur Ava Carrie and several friends said it was great to get out, enjoy the sun and hear great music. “This is a wonderful festival and just a great time with friends,” said Carrie.

Festival goer Cin-Dee said she flew in from Virginia to celebrate her birthday in the Bay Area. She was saddened that she missed Frankie Beverly’s farewell tour that kicked off in March when he performed in her area on the east coast, capping a 50-year career. When Cin-Dee noticed Maze would feature Beverly in the line up at the San Jose Jazz Festival, in a tribute to him, she made sure to cut short her touring of Santa Cruz to not miss the performance on Sunday evening. “I am so happy to be here and have this opportunity to see Frankie with Maze,” she said, dancing to the music. “This is really special and it’s great to see Frankie on stage and hear my favorite songs.”

Maze performed favorites in tribute to Beverly while introducing their new lead singer, Tony Lindsay. During the last stretch of the concert, Beverly performed, “Happy Feelings,” and “I Wanna Thank You.” The performance was emotional for Beverly as the audience stood up and danced during the entire performance, capturing the historic moment on their cell phones.

Maze was founded by Beverly in 1970 in Philadelphia and was recognized by Marvin Gaye when they relocated to the Bay Area in 1971. The group went on to earn nine gold albums between 1977 and 1993 with mega hits such as “Happy Feelin’s” and “Before I Let Go.” Beverly, known for his soulful baritone voice, wrote hit after hit during his five-decade career. Beverly said he was initially inspired by the pacesetting R&B doo-wop group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Performances at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest also included the John Santos Sextet, the San Jose Jazz High School All Stars, Faye Carol, Delfaeyo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, David Benoit Quartet, Andre Thierry Accordion Soul, Ayo Brame, The Family Stone, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

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Arts and Culture

African American Historic Ties to Blue Jeans Revealed in Indigo-Dyeing Workshop at Black-Eyed Pea Festival

Oakland-based artist Reshawn Goods, also known as Bushmama, will host a hands-on workshop that connects present-day blue jeans to the skills of enslaved Africans at the 9th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 14 at Marston Campbell Park at 17th and West streets. Indigo is a plant that is cultivated in a number of places around the world, including India and and Africa. Indigo dyes were introduced in America as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Many of the enslaved African people knew how to propagate indigo to create dye from the plant.

Published

7 days ago

September 10, 2024

Oakland Post

Workshop participants show how the dye looks on their skin. Prolonged exposure over years of dyeing will make the blue skin permanent. Photo courtesy Reshawn Goods

By Daisha Williams

Indigo is a plant that is cultivated in a number of places around the world, including India and Africa.

Indigo dyes were introduced in America as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Many of the enslaved African people knew how to propagate indigo to create dye from the plant. Indigo was used to dye clothes throughout all of West Africa, often referred to as blue gold. Wearing these clothes was a symbol of wealth. The Yoruba of Benin, the Manding of Mali, and the Hausa of Kano were renowned for indigo processing and dyeing.

According to Goods, the Europeans liked the colors that this dye produced and made slaves continuously produce it. Another crop that they cultivated was cotton, still something used for much of our clothing today.

When talking about the historical significance of indigo for Black Americans Goods said, “Slaves at that time were given a ration of clothes once a year… this cloth was very coarse and harsh to the skin. So, one slave decided to dip their clothes in the indigo vat and this was the early beginnings of what denim became to be. People will say that Levi Strauss created jeans, but we created jeans.”

At Goods’ workshop, attendees will be able to use cotton, indigo, and denim to create patches that resonate with them that will be used to form a family quilt. This fun and free craft has a lot of historical significance.

“When you go to school you learn about slaves, but you don’t learn about where they came from or what they brought with them,” said Bushmama. “That’s not part of the narrative… we brought so much with us, and that part is not shared. I feel that if we knew how powerful we were it would help us to elevate. That would help to dismantle white supremacy.”

Bush has been creating ever since she was young. Her first exhibition was in 1994 and was also where she sold her first piece. Since then, she has continued using art to create awareness within the Black community.

Before the counterculture of the 1960s, dungarees weren’t even sold in department stores but rather Army-Navy and hardware stores. They were really cheap but sturdy and only made in men’s sizes. Eventually, blue jeans began to be used by designers and became fashion statements that can cost hundreds of dollars.

Many Black Americans are unfamiliar with this history, and with conservative pushback against things like Critical Race Theory, many pieces of history like this are left untold.

That’s why having workshops like these is so important, it shines a light on the parts of history that have been hidden in the shadows while empowering the Black community by connecting them to their roots.

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Arts and Culture

Chef Wanda Blake Honors Black Culture Through Food at Black-Eyed Pea Festival

Chef Wanda Blake, a legacy food ambassador for Farms to Grow, Inc., will honor the history of Black farmers and Black cuisine by creating a food altar for this year’s annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 14 at Marston Campbell Park at 17th and West streets. Blake is a chef who incorporates history and culture into her foods, using her awareness of Black history to enrich both the body and the mind. With this in mind, Blake’s altar will highlight red foods and their significance to the Black community.

Published

7 days ago

September 10, 2024

Oakland Post

Chef Wanda Blake. Courtesy photo

By Daisha Williams

Blake is a chef who incorporates history and culture into her foods, using her awareness of Black history to enrich both the body and the mind. With this in mind, Blake’s altar will highlight red foods and their significance to the Black community.

Red is associated with the blood shed during slavery and that blackness and pain are often intertwined with one another.

The practice of eating red foods and drinks for Juneteenth and other gatherings was popularized in Texas, which may have been influenced by Yoruba and Congo cultures. Red symbolizes spiritual power and transformation in both of these cultures.

Blake says that things like “red drink” are examples of the ancestors’ ability to find value in the things around them. “Red drink” was a type of hibiscus tea, sweetened with honey. Hibiscus is now known to be hydrating, and helps with high blood pressure, blood sugar and menstrual cramps.

Like black-eyed peas, watermelon is part of Black history as it was cultivated in Africa. And, according to Wikipedia, red velvet cake — an iconic dessert — may “have origins in 1911 when Rufus Estes, a formerly enslaved person and chef, incorporated a recipe for a sweet velvet cake in his cookbook.”

The color red also has ties to enslaved ancestors beyond food. There are tales of African people being lured to slave ships using red cloth, which was a rarity and highly prized. such as. Red handkerchiefs were considered powerful objects.

Blake learned to cook the way many Black women do, from her mom, and later from aunties and grandmothers as well. Food, family, and culture are so intertwined with each other, and Blake never forgets that when navigating her career. This explains her strong ties between food and culture.

As she’s taken recipes into her own hands, she has added her own creativity into. For example, at previous Black-Eyed Pea Festivals, she has created many different black-eyed pea dishes, including a hummus-like dip, chili, pies, and hoppin’ john pasta.

Blake is the legacy food ambassador for Farms to Grow Inc. Farms to Grow is a nationwide 501c3 nonprofit organization that works with Black farmers, and other farmers who struggle due to systemic oppression such as Indigenous people, Latinx people and other minority groups. Their goal is to keep underserved farmers able to grow and produce food not just now, but for future generations as well.

Blake holds the title of ‘Legacy Food Ambassador’ for consciously integrating culture into her meals, as well as keeping an awareness about cultural food security. Blake was born in Lewisville, Ark., and then moved to San Francisco, first studying at City College of San Francisco.

The 9^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival takes place on Sat. Sept. 14 at Marston Campbell Park at 17^th and West in West Oakland. Free and family friendly, take BART, the bus or car service and bypass parking. See you there.