John Leonard Burris presents Trayvon Martin and Racial Profiling: Real or imaginary? John Leonard Burris is an American civil rights attorney, based in Oakland, California, known for his work in police brutality cases representing plaintiffs. He briefly represented Rodney King in his suit against the Los Angeles Police Department and is most recently noted for filing a civil suit over the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant. Burris has appeared as a legal commentator on MSNBC, CNN, and other cable and local television networks.

Free with MoAD Admission.

Please join us at the Museum of the African Diaspora for a FREE curriculum workshop for Bay Area K-12 teachers and educators. In this workshop we will use MoAD’s “Adornment” display to explore issues of culture, identity, and beauty.

This workshop is best suited for teachers of grades K-8, but any educator is welcome to participate. If you would like to attend this or any other workshop, please RSVP to estorer@moadsf.org.

Wayne Harris presents The John Henry Chronicles, a solo performance of traditional and new stories about the African-American mythological character, John Henry “The Steel Drivin’ Man.” The stories are told by several characters, both male and female and in the telling, they share their personal stories of culture, community and family. The work embodies the Black experience in America while affirming the universal truths that are the foundation of all races. During the course of the performance, the subjects of race, honesty, hard work and the indomitable human spirit are explored through character and song. Memorable characters and tall tales create an opportunity for students to experience the power of oral storytelling and it’s application to language arts in an entertaining and fun atmosphere. Storytelling will be followed by theatre games and songs inspired by The John Henry Chronicles. 

Wayne Harris is an award winning solo performer, writer, educator, curriculum innovator and musician. A giftedd artist with wide-ranging interests, he has accumulated an impressive body of work over the years that includes 3 full length solo plays, performances for schools, directing and designing for pageantry groups as well as various musical projects.

Folktales Across the African Diaspora is generously supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation 

Free with MoAD Admission.

Join us for Day One of our two day event, a free day of celebration of Juneteenth, together with Father’s Day at MoAD. Enjoy a lecture and performance with Branice McKensie on The African Roots of Gospel, as part of our Sacred Music, Sunday Fellowship series (made possible by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation), learn local history with a book talk and booksigning with Jan Batiste Adkins, author of African Americans of San Francisco, take a fresh look at fairytales with episodes from the HBO series Happily Ever After: Fairytales for Every Child, engage in a family art activity, and meet with a genealogist for our Ask a Genealogist workshop. Please register in advance to guarantee a time-slot with a genealogist by emailing egessel@moadsf.org.

 

12-5pm    Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

12-4pm    Ask A Genealogist with gotgenealogy.com

12-4pm    Juneteenth and Father's Day Bookmark Making Art Activity

1-2pm      African Americans in San Francisco with Jan Batiste Adkins

2:30-4:30pm   The African Roots of Gospel with Branice McKenzie

The Juneteenth Jubilation Free Day and Special Benefit Event are made possible by the generous support of Union Bank and Everett Ridge Vineyards & Winery. The Special Benefit Event received additional support from participating cuisine sponsors: 1300 On Fillmore, Farmer Brown Restaurant, J & V Catering and Ridge Wines; and event sponsors: Robert L. Brown, St. Regis Hotel, Union Bank and Zakiya Hooker.

Day Two - Performance, Music and Cuisine. A benefit event celebrating a historical period in American history. Featuring a dramatic reading by actor and narrator Dion Graham of the award winning HBO series The Wire, legendary Blues singer and songwriter Zakiya Hooker and tastings of sumptuous southern cuisine and award winning wines.

[Purchase Tickets]

The Juneteenth Jubilation Free Day and Special Benefit Event are made possible by the generous support of Union Bank and Everett Ridge Vineyards & Winery. The Special Benefit Event received additional support from participating cuisine sponsors: 1300 On Fillmore, Farmer Brown Restaurant, J & V Catering and Ridge Wines; and event sponsors: Robert L. Brown, St. Regis Hotel, Union Bank and Zakiya Hooker.

Inspired by Nsibidi, an African indigenous system of writing that uses symbols, signs and codes to convey concepts, Victor Ekpuk reduces forms to codes and symbols that express the human condition. In his compositions, the use of arcane signs and invented pseudo-writings often evoke the idea of writing, where legibility and illegibility are metaphors. Through slide presentations, Victor Ekpuk will discuss his process and his current work.

A silent auction of three drawings by Victor Ekpuk will be held during the event. The bidding opens at 6pm and closes at 8pm. Images of the artwork can be viewed here. 

Victor Ekpuk was born and studied in Nigeria. He received a bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Ife, Nigeria in 1989. It was at Ife that he began to adopt and incorporate the traditional writing systems as the basis for his contemporary style and artistic expression. He began a professional career as an artist in 1990, as editorial illustrator and cartoonist at the Daily Times in Nigeria. While working at the newspaper, Victor continued exploring his personal artistic visions, and exhibited his works in Nigeria and international venues. In Nigeria his work was recognized for its unique style and was shown alongside such notable artists as El Anatsui, Uche Okeke, Obiora Udechukwu and Bruce Onabrakpeya. In 1999 Victor emigrated from Nigeria to the United States and established his studio in Washington D.C. His works are shown widely and are in such collections as Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, The World Bank and Newark Museum.

Free with MoAD Admission.

This series is designed to bring different scholars to MoAD who will present on a variety of topics related to the African Diaspora. These events create a bridge of conversation between scholars and the community. All talks occur on Saturday mornings 10am-12pm in the Salon. Seating is limited.

Duane Deterville presents Jazz and Visual Culture: Playing Jazz in the Visual Field. Artists from Mondrian and Matisse to Bearden and Basquiat have used Jazz music as a creative well to draw images from. Jazz as an aesthetic used for visualization has been examined many times by culture critics, however with this lecture presentation Deterville will explore the interdisciplinary intersection between visuality and jazz improvisation with an emphasis on the jazz aesthetic as an African diasporic cultural expression. The visual artwork and illuminated musical scores of jazz musicians Louis Armstrong, Leo Wadada Smith and Anthony Braxton amongst others will be explored as well as the concerns for Jazz music in the work of visual artists.

Free with MoAD Admission.