Black is Beautiful 23-Soul Beat TV (Oakland)

I used to watch SoulBeat for the music videos and occasionally the talk shows they'd host as a teen. You could turn it on in the middle of the night and find a gospel show, a prayer, or crazy commercial for a local business. It wasn't the most polished filming or broadcasting but it gave a lot of people from around the way a chance to say something and was one of the first to play Bay Area hip hop artists videos like Souls of Mischief, E40, RBL Posse, or Digital Underground. It was cable access television. I went by the old building today (73rd ave) and actually couldn't remember which door was theirs, only the red building with the big yellow and black sign (which is no longer there) so I asked a local church member and a postman walking his beat who knew as soon as i asked. Whether it was a show by Chauncy Bailey, brother Billy Jones, the local pastor, rap and soul videos from the immense talent of the Bay Area's hip hop scene, the Black muslim community, or just a small business it was loved and valued in the community. SoulBeat started in 1978 and ran until 2003. Chuck Johnson from Tulsa, who started as a radio DJ, started the station and kept it "100% Black owned". The station had to shut down shortly before Mr. Johnson passed away because of financial difficulties and the fact that it is expensive to run a media business without corporate funding, just ask kpfa who does fund drives through out the year. But, to watch Soul Beat was to see Black TV like I had never seen before and it should be counted in Black History and Bay Area history. How important is it to own and distribute your own content that no one can direct or question?

Black is Beautiful 22- Marcus Books Oakland

Lets talk "now". Right now, Marcus Books has the absolute largest selection of picture books, comics, novels, and non-fiction written and illustrated by/about African Americans than ANY other store in the Bay Area. The next time you think of getting a gift for a new born or a young child, consider starting there, and consider starting them young when it comes to reading for fun. The San Francisco Marcus Books store was the first to be established in 1960, and an Oakland location was opened soon after. For as long as I can remember Marcus Books has been there providing comic books for children, novels, biographies, and text books with a Black focus for college students. lBefore the days of the internet, when I was a student at SFSU you could get anything from Octavia Butler to Assata at Marcus Books, and you still can. The store held meetings, hosted authors and signings, printed their own books, and put their store and lives on the line for students who were protesting for ethnic studies at San Francisco State University. I wont go into the closing of the SF store because it involves a displacement of Black folks in SF and the Fillmore that has been going on for decades, but I will say the Oakland store is a 2 min walk from MacArthur bart and they are still open. If they don't have the comic, picture book, or novel you're looking for (focusing on African Americans) then ask them to order it. Marcus Books is landmark in Black History for the Bay Area and the country.

Black is Beautiful 21-KDIA radio station (Oakland)

Every weekend almost as a kid I would go to San Francisco from the East Bay to visit my grandparents in the city. We would cross the old Bay Bridge and on the way we'd pass this radio station on the right of the freeway. I didn't know it at the time, but it is one of the first stations to play black music in the Bay Area alongside KSOL and KPOO. "Kdia Lucky 13", was founded in 1959 and covered Alameda, Contra Costa, SF, Solano, Sonoma, Santa Clara, and reached almost out to Stockton. You would hear songs like "the midnight hour" by Ray Charles, "tell it like it is" by Aaron Neville, or Bay Area musicians like "Confunkshun" and "Marvin Holmes and The Uptights".  I consider it part of this months history because for over 30 years this radio station not only played Black Music but hired Black DJs and was awarded for some of their reporting and/or segments. There were DJs there like Roland Porter, Belva Davis, John Hardy, Jay Sweet, Diane Blackmon, and later would be owned by Adam Clayton Powell, journalist Chauncy Bailey, Elihu Harris, and Willy Brown. I was reminded of KDIA by the African American library on 14th st. in Oakland recently. Why is media black owned or directed media important? You tell me! Shout out to Hard Knock Radio and Block Report Radio.

Carmen Amelia Robles-Black is Beautiful 20

Colonel Carmen Amelia Robles was an Afro-Mexican soldier in the Mexican Revolution 1910-1920. I could find very little on Colonel Robles except that she dressed like a man of the times and assumed a more masculine stature fighting alongside men as did many women during this time. The first place i saw information and a photo of her was through the Lati-Negros blog. This led me to other blogs such as "Beyond Black and White"and "Numero F". They put her birth at 1889 en Xochipala, Guerrero. She was a part of Emiliano Zapata's army and participated in many battles such as La Batalla de la hacienda de pozuelos.

Elizabeth Catlett- Black is Beautiful 19

This is the 2nd time I've drawn Elizabeth Catlett after seeing her amazing show at MOAD in San Francisco last year. Ms Catlett was born in 1915 in Washington DC and died in 2012 in Mexico. Her style of sculpture and printmaking were incredible. They had a color and style all their own. She studied at the "Taller de Gráfica Popular " for many years and before going to Mexico studied with Lois Mailou Jones and many others at Howard University. Elizabeth was into depicting beautiful images of both Black and Brown people. She became politicized while living in Mexico and was working as a teacher, artist, and as an activist. So much so that she was barred from entering the US for many years. 

Here's one of artist Wilhelmina Godfrey

Jim Simon-Black is Beautiful 18

Jim Simon is an artist and animator. He is the first African American to found his own studio called Wantu Animation. He worked on films/shows such as Fat Albert, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Smurf's, X-Men, Vegetable Soup, Sesame Street, The California Raisins, Peter Pan, Sonic the Hedgehog, and he animated the opening credits to "Soul Train"! He was featured as an up and coming business man in Black Enterprise in 1977. Wantu was making nearly 100 short animations in the late 70's for which, they received over 25 awards. Despite the awards in the early days, Simon had to go to work for the bigger companies to survive.  He had to put his studio Wantu (which would focus on content featuring African American stories) on hold, probably drained financially and emotionally from projects or studios that were not interested in Black characters. Simon left animation, went homeless for many years and stopped making art all together. It wasn't until the last ten years that he returned to making art, and is now living in San Diego. I salute him because he was a pioneer in the art form. Today I see brothers like LeSean Thomas, Carl Jones, and Everett Downing out there today trying to extend the path. Shout out to "African American Animators Past & Present" who got me hip to Jim and so many other folks.

Dig this? Check out Brenda Banks and Floyd Norman

Lois Mailou Jones-Black is Beautiful 17

I've been a fan of Ms Jones' work ever since I took a Black Art and History class in college. It was the first time I became aware of Black folks as painters, sculptors; not just musicians and/or dancers. Lois was born in 1905 and was encouraged as a child to be creative. She started to paint in her early years and attended an arts college. She was active as an artist from the time of the Harlem Renaissance up until her mid 70's. Her work was exhibited internationally and is still in collections across the US. She was an arts professor at Howard University for over 40 years and she was given many awards. But really, it is her style of both painterly and graphic African iconography that caught my eye. Please check out her work.

In case you missed it, here's one of Elizabeth Catlett

Oakland's fight for arts funding and gentrification

ARTICLE LINK

Please read this in order to learn about what has been happening in Oakland which is happening all over the US. If you're at all interested in artwork in Oakland and living here this is something you should read.

Blake Brockington- Black is Beautiful 16

"When you're trans it just means that your sex assigned at birth doesn't match the gender you identify with". -Blake 

I just came to know who Blake was, and from what I can tell he was a very strong young man, he came out to his family and friends about who he was as a teenager in North Carolina. He was also the first trans boy ever in the state to be crowned home coming king, which is no small achievement. I didn't know him and won't pretend to know his whole story, but I know that he championed trans rights and was a role model for other youth who were trans, lesbian, gay, etc. And I know that living with the ignorance, stupidity, and hate of others that simply being himself was hard and it shouldn't have to be. 

"Nobody should be scared to be themselves, and everybody should have an equal opportunity to have an enjoyable high school experience". -Blake

Blake committed suicide. I don't know why, but I suspect it had something to do with a lack of support and positive encouragement. I salute you Blake by painting your image in the hopes that someone who is not aware of trans youth struggles will be a tiny bit more aware, or that someone questioning their gender or sexuality will know they are not alone. Please read more at http://www.advocate.com/obituaries/2015/03/24/trans-teen-activist-homecoming-king-dies

Zun Lee-Photographer inspiration

InFrame - Zun Lee from InFrame on Vimeo.