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Queen Calafia.com |
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The phenomenal Ajuana Black brought hundreds of school children and adults to their feet repeatedly in a thrilling performance of Queen Calafia: Ruler of California during a three-day run at the Buriel Clay Theatre in the African-American Art and Culture Complex in San Francisco. Comments from the audience included: “The actress was fantastic.” Frankie Gillette “The concept of the play was just remarkable” Dr. Fannie Preston “It was very complex, there was a lot of meat to it.” Pete Hammer She plays Dr. Wright Now, a conflicted anthropology professor seeking tenure as a specialist on the Ming Dynasty at an exclusive all-women’s college in Los Angeles who encounters the murals depicting Queen Calafia and her black women warriors in the ballroom of a San Francisco hotel. The play is derived from Our Roots Run Deep: the Black Experience in California, Vols. 1-4 by John William Templeton, also playwright and producer of Queen Calafia: Ruler of California. Director/choreographer is Robert Henry Johnson. The fourth volume of Our Roots Run Deep: The Black Queen: How African-Americans Put California on the Map.
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Balboa High School’s Lawrence Gray, also president of the Association of Midnight Basketball League Programs and founder of Scared Stiff, brought 30 students to see Queen Calafia: Ruler of California. |
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Ajuana Black meets after the play with Alma Robinson of California Lawyers for the Arts, engineer Fred Jordan, president of the San Francisco African-American Chamber of Commerce and guest. |
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Artist TheArthur Wright, whose paintings of Queen Calafia graced the set, joins Ajuana Black and Rev. Regnaldo Woods, executive director of Up From Darkness, beneficiary of the play as a fundraiser. |
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Share the excitement Bring Queen Calafia: Ruler of California to your campus, conference or theatre and spread the central role of Africans in the history of the West. The story comes from a 1510 epic Las Serges de Esplandian in which California is an island populated only by black women. Hernan de Cortes quoted from this epic in his request to seek out the island, thought to be just off the coast of North America. Spanish maps showed California as an island for 150 years hence. The information is compelling in its own right, but presented in dramatic form by such a gifted performer, even more transformational. It is particularly effective for educator professional development, diversity training and as a convention attraction. Contact the producer at queencalafia@californiablackhistory.com or call 415-240-3537. |
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Questions to Study Part of the magic of Queen Calafia is its ability to address the underlying factors causing the achievement gap—the lack of culturally-responsive teaching and materials for students of color in general and most particularly for African-American students. Spirited Q&A sessions follow each performance. Questioners at Buriel Clay ranged from third and fourth graders from Rosa Parks Elementary School to San Francisco State University students to National Park Service rangers.
We stressed several vocabulary words: Allegory Entymology
Several geography concepts The relationship between Africa and Europe Ties between China and Africa How names are placed on the map
Sociological issues Exclusion of African-Americans from history Discrimination in academia Inter-racial romance The internment of Japanese Americans The role of women in history
Here are some of the most asked questions.
Was she real?
What was the meaning of the character name Dr. Wright Now?
Who is the woman currently in the California state seal?
Three lesson plans on teaching about Queen Calafia are contained in Volume Four of Our Roots Run Deep: the Black Experience in California.
The sequence includes The Importance of Names The Role of Mythology The Central Role of Africans in World History To give context to the discussion.
The documentary Our Roots Run Deep also shows public art depicting Queen Calafia from around the state.
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About Ajuana Black “Mama Earth”
This mother of four home schools nine children while promoting her new album A Soulful Journey and performing as Sunshine Rae in a cabaret style show at Oakland’s Soft Notes twice monthly. As Queen Calafia, she brings the hands-on daily experience of creating a culturally-responsive classroom to the interpretation of the character. To help other parents, she created Mama Earth magazine to share insights on raising healthy, creative, inspired young people. She is a graduate of Bishop O’Dowd High School and attended San Francisco State University and New College of California. As a teen, she acted in the Johnnie Lee Gibson Story on CBS. Stage credits include Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and TheatreWorks. Her album A Soulful Journey puts inspiration, smoothness and passion into an array of music that shows her tremendous vocal range.
Director/Choreograper Robert Henry Johnson
Robert Henry Johnson is a dancer and playwright who mixes movement style and literary influences with equal fluidity. The son of singer Lady Memfis and guitarist Robert Gonzales, he was one of the first graduates of San Francisco’s School of the Arts high school. In addition to launching the Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company, he has also done commissions for Oakland Ballet, Bavarian State Opera Company and Oregon Ballet Theatre
Writer/Producer John William Templeton credits KGO’s Ray Taliaferro with pointing him towards the Room of the Dons murals because “the whole state is named after a black woman.” Four hundred pages later, Our Roots Run Deep: the Black Experience in California, Vol. 1, 1500-1900, opened Queen Calafia up to a much wider audience in 1991 along with the companion documentary on KMTP in 1993. Queen Calafia: Ruler of California builds on the exhibition of various works of public art around the state devoted to the warrior queen. There are now three other volumes of Our Roots Run Deep, Vol. 2 1900-1950, Vol. 3 1950-2000 and The Black Queen: How African-Americans Put California on the Map. His exhibition JazzGenesis: San Francisco and the Birth of Jazz is on display in the Visitor Information Center of the San Francisco Convention & Visitor Bureau. 2008 marks the 20th year anniversary of his publishing firm eAccess Corp. Visit him at http://www.californiablackhistory.com |
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Ajuana Black as Dr. Wright Now is oblivious to the images of black women behind her In Queen Calafia: Ruler of California
ADDITIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
http://www.californiablackhistory.com
JazzGenesis: San Francisco and the Birth of Jazz in the Visitor Information Center, San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, near Powell St. BART
© 2008 eAccess Corp. 11691 Turk St. San Francisco, CA 94115 (415) 240-3537 |