Californiablackhistory.com
The Black Queen comes to life
click for reservations
Tuesday, Sept. 30 opening night gala 7 p.m.
Buriel Clay Theatre, African-American Art & Culture Complex
762 Fulton Street, San Francisco
Education Matinee Wednesday, Oct. 1 2 p.m.
Religion Tribute Thursday, Oct. 2 7 p.m.
All of California’s major cities have public art depicting the founding narrative of California history, a 1510 epic describing California as an island nation populated solely by black women.
But nowhere is the central role of African-Americans in Calfiornia history made more evident than in San Francisco, where the tributes to those black warrior women are in the most prominent locations, such as the Rotunda of City Hall and atop Nob Hill’s swankiest hotel.
That occurred because of the impact of real black San Franciscans at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, an impact that is still evident in the city’s architecture.
This riveting one-woman play depicts how finding the story of Queen Calafia transforms the spirit and renews the soul. For Reservations, click
Other activities include:
DAILY September-October
JazzGenesis: San Francisco and the Birth of Jazz
Visitor Informaiton Center, Cyril Magnin and Market Streets near Powell BART
Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Tribute to William Alexander Leidesdorff
1 p.m.
Roberta Mundy
Francisca Sanchez, Associate Superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District
Education Evening
following matinee performance of Queen Calafia
FAMILY JEWELS
Regina Mason The Life of William Grimes
Sharon McGriff Payne The John Grider Century
Kevin Epps The Black Rock
followed by booksigning
BLACK HERITAGE AS THE GAP CLOSER
How teachers can infuse primary sources of Califonia black heritage into their daily classroom experience in order to close the achievement gap
John William Templeton
Thursday, Oct. 2
9 a.m.
The Buffalo Soldiers in San Francisco
Ranger Frederick Penn, The Presidio, National Park Service
10 a.m.
Preserving California’s Black Neighborhoods
Regina Davis, Executive Director, S.F. Housing Development Corp.
Kristin Morris, Assistant Curator, Museum of San Francisco
Phil Ting, Assessor, City and County of San Francisco
HERITAGE LUNCHEON
Presentation of Invisible Pioneers context statement
John William Templeton principal investigator
Respondents
Dr. Johnetta Richards, San Francisco State University
Guy Washington, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
Glenn Nance, Chair, African-American studies, City College of San Francisco
Workshop on Historical Resource Studies
Final performance Queen Calafia: Ruler of California 7 p.m.
The presentations of Queen Calafia: Ruler of California are a benefit for Up From Darkness re-entry program. For group or individual tickets, call 415-447-4234.
African-American heritage as the gap closer
Oakland -- Two-thirds of students in California classrooms would be more curious and excited about their lessons if there was more infusion of African-American heritage on a regular basis.
Historian John William Templeton reported results of an online survey of social science and special education teachers and librarians during a keynote address to the California Council for Social Studies conference, two days after the state-mandated commemorative day Black American Day on Wednesday, March 5, the anniversary of Crispus Attucks’ death during the Boston Massacre.
.Past president of the American Educational Research Association, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings defines such teaching in a 1994 book as “using cultural and historical referents to convey knowledge, to impart skills and to change attitudes.”
All the tools an educator or parent needs to tell a complete and riveting account of the central role of African-Americans in California history. The books have been cited by the California Sesquicentennial Commission and the Friends of the San Francisco Library.
The long-overlooked stories of California’s African-American heritage are coming to light through the extraordinary research of dogged investigators who make CSI look like child’s play.
The second annual Preserving California Black Heritage conference Oct. 1-2 in the Buriel Clay Theatre in the African-American Art and Culture Complex at 762 Fulton St. in San Francisco showcases their work for educators, land use planners and policy makers.
Although only one percent of all the historic landmarks in California relate to its diverse heritage, there are thousands of historic buildings related to African-Americans alone.
The goal of the conference is to share information and skills on how to properly preserve that heritage.
A second objective is to present the information to educators who can share it in the classroom to give young people proper understanding of the central role of blacks in California history.
Drama and the arts are an important way to share the stories, as will be demonstrated with the three day presentation of the play, Queen Calafia: Ruler of California.
Exhibitions provide tangible evidence of remarkable history. JazzGenesis: San Francisco and the Birth of Jazz, in cooperation with the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, is on display in the Visitor Information Center at Powell Street BART station leading up to the conference.
Many of the buildings where the original artists to perform jazz music played still stand today. The compelling history is shared in JazzGenesis: San Francisco and the Birth of Jazz online .
The first night of the conference includes the powerful program, Family Jewels, featuring new authors Regina Mason, The Life of William Grimes, and Sharon McGriff Payne, The John Grider Century: African-Americans in Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties, filmmaker Kevin Epps, The Black Rock: the Dark Side of Alcatraz and researchers Rosemary Mundy, a specialist on William Alexander Leidesdorff and Rob Lucas, great-grandson of Col. Walter Loving, first African-American to conduct at a presidential inauguration.
Arcitect Miles Stevens and historian John William Templeton (at first annual PCBH conference last October) have created a draft context statement, Invisible Pioneers, with Dr. Johnetta Richards of San Francisco State, on the heritage of African-Americans in San Francisco. The discussion of this guide to potential landmark sites will take place on the second day of Preserving California Black Heritage Oct. 2. Map, right, shows buildings in the Western Addition.
Regina Mason of Berkeley spent 15 years researching her great-great--great-grandfather William Grimes, who published the slave narrative, subject of her August release with co-author Dr. William Andrews for Oxford University Press. She’s a panelist in the Family Jewels program Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Journalist, storyteller and historical sleuth Sharon McGriff Payne found John Grider’s life after helping to create the Bear Flag too compelling to resist. Her upcoming book John Grider’s Century explores black heritage in the North Bay counties. She also is a Family Jewels panelist.
Kevin Epps came Straight Outta Hunters Point with his first film and landed on Alcatraz to learn that the segregated life of its black prisoners had been obscured until his new documentary The Black Rock opens.
Librarian Rosemary Mundy has spent years combing through the papers of millionaire Capt. William Alexander Leidesdorff. She begins the education forum in recognition of his launching the state’s first public school.
