atlanta. entrepreneurship is a big part of it. i did not understand and nobody told me what is involved with buying your own home until i was in my second law school, where is the my counterparts, the white students i was in class with, they had had that information coming up. it was just second nature. i asked the guy across the hall from me what his folks did. but told him my mom was a nurse and my dad was a teacher, a soldier before. he said his father was the deputy prime minister of jordan. i was like, "ok." minute court partner -- my moot court partner, he said his father owned three swiss banks. i think even before entrepreneurship, it is financial literacy.

we need to educate ourselves about what these resources are. it is financial literacy and really wealth literacy, understanding that there are different kinds of wealth beyond just monetary wealth, but you need to understand monetary wealth, spiritual well, the social capital we have and understand how to cultivate those things and invest them properly. those are important skills. at the same time, i do not think black capitalism is the solution to the problems of black folks who have been the victims of capitalism's boot. >> making sure that that kind of information becomes available. that could be the subject of what we deal with in black history month. you know? hal the wealth is developed. who developed it. loans what? how one gets to own it. we could do that. it could be touchy, but it could be useful. i'm just saying that we could use occasions for teaching about

things that could make a difference. so i just say raise questions, and sometimes, raise hell when you raise the questions. [applause] >> i wanted to know if there was an african-american district attorney working in texas to review some of the cases that were -- i guess, tried, and some of the evidence was not valid. looking through investigating some of those cases to find out if they should be released because of the false information that was acquired. >> the attorney who has been the lead on the team that i have been in communication with is a guy by the name of morris moon, and he would be the person i could ask to find out the answer. there is actually a be a working on that, but i know there have been so many cases -- there is actually a d.a. working on that,

but i know there have been so many cases that have been exposed, especially with dna testing. it is almost like every other week. there does need to be somebody looking into it from that angle. of the top of my head, i do not know, but i could definitely get that information. >> how can we make it not just black history day, not just black history month, but every day be black history and honor that? thank you. and how do we really teach our children, our students really not what the media portrays, not what -- but really, what happened? i did get a chance to experience "eyes on the price" and i thought that was just the tip of the iceberg -- experience "eyes on the priceze." >> i do not know how to go about

it, but what i would suggest is the reason why i did what i did, why i was brave enough and courageous enough to not give up my seat, because so much history was in my mind, and one of the things they were always asking me was why i did not get up when i was asked, and my answer would always be history had me glued to the seat. [applause] i think that what is left out of american history -- you should not be ashamed to say that we enslaved these people and mystery these people, a race of people.

it should be included in the american history, and it would be every day. [applause] >> really quickly, it jolla i went to school with named sol williams said, "stealing as was the smartest thing you ever did. too bad you do not teach the true to your kids." that line says so much. -- a scholar i went to school with. it is not just about changing lives of black people, but changing the lives of everybody by teaching true history, which includes jim crow and slavery before it -- but before that, the first people to walk the planet and develop situation -- civilization came along the nile river valley. if we teach african history as human history, history will require that you incorporate our

story and tell it the right way. [applause] >> just to say that in terms of how teaching history can make a difference to these test scores that we are also obsessed with, i had a piece of news from mississippi where the book, "putting the movement back into civil rights" -- are you familiar with that? the superintendent has agreed -- and your piece is in it, awele -- the superintendent has agreed that it be used districtwide. just this week, i was hearing that the rigor and relevance of the material actually got students engaged and got the score is up. while the score is being up is not the only thing, i do want to say there is real value in making curriculum relevant,

truthful, and rigorous, and one of the ways of doing that would be to embed all of this into all subjects all year for all the students. [applause] >> if i could just show that on friday, ms. colvin spent the whole day at alameda county juvenile hall, and i think we saw eight different units of young men and women, 14 to 18, medium-security, and they were riveted to their seats. when we were looking like we were running out of time, we were told not to worry about the time. they shared poetry. one young woman suggested how -- they share how they are trying to transform their lives, and listening to her story and transformation, and it was a very powerful date. >> this is for one of my heroes, claudette colvin.

and a local hero of mine, because we have freedom fighters right here in our midst, and we do not always celebrate them. francisca sanchez, who is seriously about her business about getting the shackles off. i want to do this to honor them, and to thank you for being here. give yourselves a big round of applause. [applause] all i've got is some fish and a few loaves of bread. and a whole lot of folks have got to get fed. but seven seats were made in under seven days, the first man was forgiven when he missed the hague, the branch was taken by a dove to a book that was built before a flood, if a rainbow sent out a sign, if someone was told to sacrifice his own son and told to hold up before he

was done, then the fish and bread that i just said is all that i've got, is all that i need for me to get fed and for me to feed a whole lot of folks in need because they set me on fire. when they look back, i was chilling. i had to fight like 10 older brothers, and because i had this dream, so they sold me out to a band of bandits and one day was commanded to stop, drop, when i got this fish that i found while fishing around, under water with the daughter of the pharaoh, the child was chosen to force the pharaoh to free his folks from a foreign land, repair everywoman, prepare every man, prepare every child, all you've got is that right in your hand. all i've got is some fish and a few loaves of bread, and a whole lot of folks have got to get

fed, but i believe. i believe i can part the sea now and then, and then put it back together again. i believe i can kill any giant dead if i believe in my heart. back when we were kings, back when we were able to see processes. when a whole woman with no vote because she conceived immaculate, and a good baby daddy was something even got to be, where we could heal the sick and make the blind see. we believe in believing, so i believe in believe, and i believe they can come in the night like a thief and knocked out each of uncertainty's teeth and take away all your disbelief because the fate that lived through leprosy is a fate that will live through a chevy, a fate that can make amounting get out of bed is a phase i believe that i believe can

spread fish and a few loaves of bread. i believe i can make wine out of tap water, and i believe i can go break dancing and walk on water. i believe i can fly. i believe i can soar. i never thought i could be so free, but i believe on flying away on a wing and a prayer, and who could it be? believe it or not, it is just me. believe it or not, the fish that we got and the bread i just said is all that we got, is all that we need for us to get fed and for us to feed a whole lot of folks in need. thank you. [applause]

>> let me ask the audience to thank our two guests on stage. [applause] and then, i'm going to invite awele to come up. thank you for your questions today and your participation. >> you are very welcome. >> before we go, i have one announcement and thank you, and then, we want to acknowledge the sponsorship for today's program. i want to give a big thank-you to linda brooks burton. [applause]

because linda brooks britain last march invited me to plan this program, and i want to thank helen, who i work with in san francisco unified because she introduced me to bryonn bain, and she always introduces me to the various artists that come in to work in the school district. as i learned about bryonn and experienced his presence and i was thinking about putting together this program, it just clicked -- why not bring the two together to bring this link from the past unsegregated jim crow to what is happening in the 21st century and that has been happening? i think i was inspired by michele alexander's booke." >> it is my pleasure to say, ms.

colvin, without you we would not be where we are. [applause] thank you for sharing your story, and keep telling your story because we need to know, and our children need to know, and our children's children need to know your story. and we want to thank our sponsors today. we have the san francisco unified school district. we have marked as bookstores, who will be selling this -- ms. colvin's book, written about her, by philip house. we have sponsorship from the african diaspora, and the friends of the san francisco public library. i serve as part of the african- american interest committee that helped put this program together, and i want to thank all of you for coming, and i want to thank sfgtv for taking

the program today. we want to thank the department here at san francisco public library, and we are having a reception in l58, and we want to thank read your catering for providing some delicious food for us to nibble on today, so will you please join us and say thank you again to mrs. colvin and also to byrin bain for telling his story, but thank you for coming so that we can say thank you to miss colvin for being a living history maker. join us. thank you. ♪ lift every voice and sing

[older man speaking foreign language] richie! richie! [speaking foreign language] yo, tye! what-up? richie! what-up, player? how ya doing, son? all right, man. i'm chillin', of course. you gonna be there, right?

click freedomcenter.org to find yours. >> what i think about the arts in san francisco, i think of an ecosystem that has many different constituents and components. you have many large organizations, mid-sized groups, and smaller organizations looking to prevent their ideas to the public. part of the ecosystem includes a parade of committing. individuals have to partner with the organizations. today, we are speaking with one of the important components of that ecosystem which is the role of the art incubator. we are fitting with [inaudible] joining me to talk about this is

jessica robinson love, the executive director. welcome to culture wire. >> thank you for having me. >> can you tell me about your organization? >> we serve as an incubator for artists who are experimenting, departing from, and developing their performance work. we support this through an artist in residence program, through festivals, and also through a variety of commission programs and shorter showings. >> what prompted us to come and visit with you is that in the month of november, you have brought to life as you have nurtured for a couple of years. >> performing diaspora came to me for an idea several years ago

when i was looking at a the ecosystem and the cultural community of the bay area. artists who are rooted in traditional performance of forms have a certain amount of opportunity to show their work. often, when they want to transform that work, there's not a support system. contemporary presenters are more and more open to additional work but without a lot of context. what i want to do is to create an opportunity for artists, give them a chance to develop new work not just to the festival but through a residency program and decommissioning process so we can fully support the work and it's development. >> what i want is for the

dancers to feel like dancers, not like folklorico dancers. the choreographer, i want to be able to do a much more personal work that speaks about the reality that we live then. not the reality of our parents. even more importantly, not every dance is about happy people and happy places. we need to use the vocabulary i have always known within this context. i've tried to do that again and again. never with the support of an organization behind me. that is the big difference. >> how would you describe the performance that you demonstrated. >> we have an after-school program.

there, we service children from the third grade to the 12th grade. then we have the company that has been dancing from 3 to however many years. what we have been doing is having some institute people tend to we wanted a family feel to it. it is about family and the values of family. >> what will you take from the experience? >> this is a wonderful thing to be able to perform the same program for four years in a row. this is a way to grow the product that i have seldom experienced. i feel like it is a broadway

musical. i am taking this on the road. >> thank you so much for bringing your company to san francisco. >> i got a grant in 2008 and there is a disconnect between african-americans and africans that live on the continent. >> participating in this festival, does this serve as a kind of incentives and processed experience? >> this is the first opportunity that i have had to express my true feelings about my trip.

in african culture, you don't go and talk about your family. even though we had a rough time understanding each other, we understood each other. a understood that i was american. i never had a relationship to my citizenship until that. >> it sounds like these are pretty profound issues and issues. what was the creative process like to bring those issues to the fore? >> when they want us to speak, it might be inconvenient for us. it has been very emotional for me. dealing with the work in progress, listening to what people had to say about it.

>> many people have given you this opportunity to present this to work. has that been useful for you? >> i am so grateful for this experience. like i said, in the bay area, it is very traditional. any opportunity to step in and show that we understand what we have been taught and how we are putting our own voice into this is very pleasing. i get to stand in front of my elders and be me and also be them. improvisation in rhythmic is closely intertwined in the classical music. >> the musician is the dancer

as well. we are dancing and music and the rhythm. we improvise with the musicians. >> your whole body is an instrument. >> our body is the instrument. this house that we produce with our mouth, we produce with our feet and also the instrument produces the same sounds. we can communicate by reciting, dancing, by movement. the body is an instrument. >> how has this helped to move >> we are not only have these residence where we get to go deeply into it all work with other artists, but we get to talk about it. we get to write about it. we have to think about it. belaruour gurus weesee this and

there is feedback. we are revising this. this is relevant to contemporary kind. it has been a real blessing and a wonderful opportunity for me as a solo artist. >> thank you for being in such a great culture. >> thank you. my pleasure. >> it has been extraordinary to have this opportunity to talk with some of the performers who are performing in the diaspora. it really piqued my interest. where can get more information? >> the festival in november has been really well documented and this is available in our website. performing diaspora is more than just a performance, it is a committee and an ongoing

dialogue of interaction. anyone who likes to, they can go on our website to watch interviews with the audience, to watch rehearsals footage, to read journals. each of the artists that you spoke with have written extensively and articulate about what it was like to develop their performance in the program. all of that, the writing, the video, discussion. fitch on the symposium, all of that is available on our website. >> it has been an interesting experience. i am sure that people take advantage of the web site. >> performing diaspora will continue next year with performances by several of the artists. >> thank you for being part of "culture wire." >> thank you so much.

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