>> i'm your host of "culturewire," and today, here at electric works in san

francisco. nice to see you today. thanks for inviting us in and showing us your amazing facility today. >> my pleasure. >> how long has electric works been around? >> electric works has been in san francisco since the beginning of 2007. we moved here from brisbane from our old innovation. we do printmaking, gallery shows, and we have a fabulous retail store where there are lots of fun things to find. >> we will look at all of that as we walk around. it is incredible to me how many different things you do. how is it you identify that san francisco was in need of all these different services? >> it came from stepping out of graduate school in 1972. i wrote a little thing about how this is an idea, how our world should work. it should have printmaking, archiving, a gallery. it should have a retail store.

in 1972, i wanted to have art sales, point-of-sale at the grocery store. >> so you go through the manifesto. with the bay area should have. you are making art incredibly accessible in so many different ways, so that is a good segue. let's take a walk around the facilities. here we are in your gallery space. can you tell me about the current show? >> the current show is jeff chadsey. he is working on mylar velum, a smooth, beautiful drawing surface. i do not know anyone that draws as well as he does. it is perfect, following the contours and making the shape of the body. >> your gallery represents artists from all over, not just the bay area, an artist that work in a lot of different media. how to use some of what you look

for in artists you represent? >> it is dependent on people are confident with their materials. that is a really important thing. there is enough stuff in the world already. >> you also have in his current show an artist who makes sculpture out of some really interesting types of materials. let's go over and take a look at that. here we are in a smaller space. project gallery. >> artists used the parameters of this space to find relationships between the work that is not out in the big gallery. >> i noticed a lot of artists doing really site-specific work. >> this is a pile of balloons, something that is so familiar, like a child's balloon. in this proportion, suddenly, it becomes something out of a dream. >> or a nightmare. >> may be a nightmare. >> this one over here is even

harder to figure out what the initial material is. >> this is made out of puffy paint. often, kids use it to decorate their clothes. she has made all these lines of paint. >> for the pieces we are looking at, is there a core of foam or something in the middle of these pieces that she built on top of? >> i'm not telling. >> ah, a secret. >> this silver is aluminum foil, crumbled of aluminum foil. her aesthetic is very much that quiet, japanese spatial thing that i really admire. their attention to the materiality of the things of the world. >> this is a nice juxtaposition you have going on right now. you have a more established artists alongside and emerging artists. is that something important to you as well?

>> very important in this space, to have artists who really have not shown much. now let's look at other aspects of electric works operation. let's go to the bookstore. >> ok. >> in all seriousness, here we are in your store. this is the first space you encounter when you come in off the street. it has evolved since you open here into the most amazingly curious selection of things. >> this was the project for the berkeley art museum. it was -- this is from william wiley's retrospective, when he got up onstage to sing a song, 270 people put on the cat. >> it is not just a bookstore. it is a store. can you talk us through some of your favorites? >> these are made in china, but they are made out of cattails. >> these pieces of here, you

have a whale head and various animals and their health over there, and they are jewelry. >> we do fund raisers for nonprofits, so we are doing a project for the magic theater, so there are some pretty funny cartoons. they are probably not for prime time. >> you sort of have a kind of holistic relationship where you might do merchandise in the store that promotes their work and practice, and also, prince for them. maybe we should go back and look at the print operation now. >> let's go. >> before we go into the print shop, i noticed some incredible items you have talked back here. what are we standing in front of? >> this is william wiley, only one earth.

this is a print edition. there are only eight total, and what we wanted to do was expand the idea of printmaking. this is really an art object. there we go. >> besides the punball machine, what do you produce in limited edition? >> there is the slot machine. if you win the super jackpot, you have saved the world. >> what about work? >> the right design, it was three volumes with lithographs in each volume. the cab of count dracula with 20 lithographs inside and lined with beaver fur. really special. >> let's move on to the print shop. >> ok.

the core of what we do is making things. this is an example. this is a print project that will be a fund-raiser for the contemporary music players. we decided to put it in the portfolio so you could either frame at or have it on your bookshelf. >> so nonprofits can come to you, not just visual are nonprofits, but just nonprofits can come to you, and you will produce prints for them to sell, and the profits, they can keep. >> the return on investment is usually four times to 10 times the amount of investment. this is for the bio reserve in mexico, and this is one of the artists we represent. >> you also make prints for the artists that you represent. over here are some large prints by a phenomenal artist. >> he writes these beautiful things. anyone who has told you paradise

is a book of rules is -- has only appeared through the windows. this is from all over coffee. we are contract printers for all kinds of organizations all across the country. >> thank you very much for showing us around today. i really appreciate you taking the time to let me get better acquainted with the operation and also to share with our "culturewire" team. >> ♪ lift every voice and sing 'til earth and heaven ring ring with a harmony of liberty

let our rejoicing rise ♪ our ancestors are to be honored as the roots of the treat, and the greatness and health of the tree depends on the death and health of its routes. when we do not honor our ancestors, we become like trees without roots. there is an unbroken continuing between the realm of the living in the realm of the dead in african culture -- an unbroken continuum. the spirit pervades the everyday world of the living. in a community such as this one, we begin by honoring the ancestors, and we pour libations to honor them, and

that is what rashid is going to do. we pur water -- pour water, the primary ancestral offering, the source of life in the universe. it is associated with the womb of creation and with the fountain of life. in the spirit of honoring the ancestors, we say, praises to the ancestors of this land, the keepers of this land. praise be. praises to the ancestors of the middle passage. praises be. praises to all of those whose courage, strength, determination, perseverance, blessings, grace, blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices have uplifted us, our community, our people. i want you to take a moment and

out loud and with passion and with gratitude, call up the name of those whose shoulders you stand upon. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. we call -- praises be. we call upon you all to join us in this commemoration of the past and join us in the celebration of the youth leaders of yesterday and today and those of tomorrow. we ask you to participate as we ourselves become more energized and inspired to follow their example and to take action, to be healers, peacemakers, social

justice activists. we call upon you, great ones, to ask that you give us your blessing. bless all of us, and especially, bless our youth. bless their bodies, their spirits, their minds. we call upon you, ancestors, to ask for your guidance for all of us and especially our youth. especially our youth. guide their feet, their heads, their hearts. be to their left, they're right, above, below, in back of them. we ask that all of those who are present today be more inspired, more informed, and more hopeful and more blessed and more ready to take action when they came. >> i want to thank sonya davis, one of our peacemakers in the

community. a healer, civil rights attorney, and she has been a member of the restorative justice for youth program in oakland. linda. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the koret auditorium of the san francisco public library. i'm a member of the african- american interest committee here at the library. it is our hope that you will be profoundly moved and inspired by what you hear and see today. social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in the court, but in all aspects of society. this concept demands that people have equal rights and opportunity. everyone, from the poorest person on the margins of society to the wealthiest, deserves an even playing field.

every race, every color, every culture. what happened in 1955 is not unlike what is exploding out of the headlines today. it was a young person's death that started the uprising in tunisia. it is young people on the front lines in egypt. slowly but surely, the young people in sudan are following suit and rising up against an oppressive government. it was a young girl who stood still when she was ordered to give up her seat to a white woman, violently taken from the bus, pushed into a police car, ridiculed on her way to the station, and shot inside a jail cell until she was bailed out hours later -- shut inside a jail cell until she was bailed out hours later. hers is a powerful story, along with that of a man who was racially profiled and accused of a crime he did not commit.

i would like to invite ronald, who garner's several proclamations from various officials, and we would like to present them to ms. claudia -- to ms. claudette colvin. we want to thank him for his efforts in securing these proclamations. if ms. colvin would come up as well. >> it is an honor to be asked to make these presentations. the elected officials represented here are trailblazers themselves. many of them have been the first in their community to hold office. for example, ed lee, the first chinese-american to be appointed mayor in san francisco, is represented in this group. so is our congresswoman, nancy

pelosi, the first woman ever to become speaker of the house in the history of the united states. [applause] tom amiano, who has been a historic figure and trailblazer, coming from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered community. [applause] also, our newest elected official, supervisor cohen, with her election last november at age 32, is the youngest african-american ever to be elected to the board of supervisors. [applause] she is now san francisco's highest-ranking elected official who is african-american, one of three women on the 11-member body, and the only african- american on that 11-member body. let me read -- since we are short on time -- the letter from the united states senator,

dianne feinstein. it reads, "dear mrs. colvin, it is a pleasure for me to join your friends, family, and colleagues in recognizing you for all the work you have done in the fight for civil rights. thank you for dedicating your life to the cause of equality. you have given so much to this country. when you refuse to give up your bus seat on march 2, 1955, it ignited a spark within montgomery, alabama, that helped begin the process of change. the landmark united states supreme court case that eventually ended segregation on all buses within this country could not have been achieved without your valiant efforts that began with your testimony against the montgomery public transportation system. i commend you for your passion, courage, and dedication. very few people could have demonstrated the level of conviction you showed at the

young age of 15. young people today view you as a role model and as an important figure in the history of the civil rights movement. as united states senator representing the people of california, i commend your outstanding service to this country. i wish you good health and happiness in the years to come. sincerely yours, diane feinstein, united states senator -- dianne feinstein, united states senator." [applause] >> i don't know what to say. i'm so overwhelmed. it really feels good to get some recognition from the politicians and top politicians. i'm glad that i lived to see this day. [applause]

and i want to thank all who have made this day possible, including all the people at the library that put this event together. thank you very much. [applause] >> now, i would like to introduce the driving force behind this program, and award- winning, internationally known storyteller, recording artist, and educator. she is a truth teller and an artist for social change. she has made it her life's work to tell history through the words of its off forgotten witnesses. zero two one-women shows -- she wrote two one-women shows. she told the true story of the 1955-1956 montgomery bus boycott through the eyes of four women.

please help me welcome her. >> i guess you are wondering why i'm standing here. [inaudible] my teachers have been teaching me a lot about standing up for what is right. it was a week right after negro history week. i like negro history week a lot because we learn about people who make a difference. that is what i want to do. teh white -- the white section

was empty, and the colored section was full, so i sat in the middle, the seat on the left, the last one in the middle. i was not thinking about anything in particular. i had a chocolate candy bar, and i was looking out the window. an older girl sat next to me. i continued looking out the window. more people got on the bus, and some more color and some were white, and soon, no more seats were available. colored folks started getting up, and white folks started taking their seats. i just stared straight ahead. "make light on your feet." other people got up, but i told myself that i would just stay seated. folks started staring at me. you know why -- you know, white

folks. [laughter] "she knows where she belongs." open " i hope she is not one of them troublemakers --"i hope she is not one of the troublemakers." me? a troublemaker? just because of how i was born? my daddy that -- got a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. board rogers was coming to town -- roy rogers was coming to town. it was for white kids only. why? they think we are troublemakers?

i do not want to make trouble. troublemaker. just because of how we are born, we have to be troublemakers. that is when i looked and saw ms. hamilton getting on the bus. wait, let me get back on -- wait, driver, please, let me get back on. ms. hamilton, she sat right next to me. "you need to get out so i can drive on -- get up