RIGHTNOWISH
In Winter 2018, I partnered with one of my favorite Oakland columnists, Pendarvis Harshaw, to launch Rightnowish at KQED. I took the weekly podcast and radio show show through ideation to launch at the most-listened to NPR station in the U.S., and continued as its producer until September 2020.
We created Rightnowish to document the monumental changes cities and towns in the Bay Area were undergoing, from the perspective of community leaders and artists working to strengthen culture and history in response to gentrification. Rightnowish also celebrates the powerful ways communities heal and survive through storytelling, shared histories and the simple act of saying hello to your neighbors.
Inside of OSA’s classroom 302, there’s a student-run talent showcase unlike any other. Ok, well, it’s kind of like NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, except this one is run by teenagers. We spent an entire day with the class, recording from set-up through strike. And Class supervisor, Cava Menzies, opened up to us about why arts are necessary to her students survival. (Link to KQED)
On a rainy West Oakland morning, I sat across from Fredrika Newton while she shared intimate details about her relationship with Black Panther Party Leader Huey P. Newton. She spoke candidly about the emotional toll of loving a larger-than-life revolutionary, and gave me some 💯personal relationship advice. (Link to KQED)
Sumayyah Monét Franklin is a birth rights activist, doula and owner of Sumi’s Touch. And while she welcomes all kinds of clients, most of the folks she serves are African American. And she's especially concerned about black parents and children during the pandemic, as disparities could be exacerbated. (Link to KQED)
Mike Nicholls, founder of Umber magazine, gave Pen and I a tour of his West Oakland art studio. We flipped through pages of life-sized pencil sketches, debated why Porky Pig is a role model, and geeked out about our favorite font: Helvetica. (Link to KQED)
When Karega and Felicia Gangloff-Bailey's newborn daughter passed away, the couple says they became "angel parents." It's a term that exemplifies their uplifting approach to dealing with grief. They recently published a book full of affirmations to give guidance to other people who are dealing with grief. (Link to KQED)