AfroPortals Project Space: #BLACKAUGUSTTALKS
Join us for #BlackAugustTalks at our AfroPortals Project Space. We’ll be activating the gold portal with freedom songs from 2-4PM. Music has held us down and kept us going throughout generations, together we will explore and celebrate the historical and cultural significance of #FreedomSongs and their role in the struggle for liberation.
2:00-3:00 PM PST | Freedom Songs with Jesus Diaz & the Johannesburg Portal, South Africa
Cuban born percussionist and vocalist Jesus Diaz arrived in the United States from Habana in 1980. A multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and vocalist, Díaz has established himself as one of the most in-demand performers and studio musicians worldwide. As an educator, he has participated in several prominent clinics and workshops including Berklee College of Music, SFJAZZ, Stanford Jazz Workshop, Drummers Collective NY, and Jazz Camp West to name a few. In collaboration with his group Talking Drums, which includes fellow percussionists Michael Spiro and David Garibaldi, he has contributed to various Warner Brothers instructional books and videos.
3:00-4:00 PM PST| Freedom Songs with Omnira Institute & the São Vicente Portal, Brasil
Preserving and extending the threads of sacred knowledge, music, and practices from West Africa to the Americas. Omnira Institute’s purpose is to support the emotional and mental health of Black people through the recovery and preservation of the roots of African American culture by a) demonstrating the living links to Africa that survived slavery and b) reintroducing and reaffirming the historic and psychic links to West African cultural and spiritual tradition. Omnira Institute (OI) has a standing choir that appears in its annual cycle of events that runs from February to November. Called Awon Ohun Omnira, its repertoire includes a series of chants sung in Yoruba and songs from the African American observation known as the Ring Shout.
In the Gold Portal
Liberation Park
7101 Foothill Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94621
8/24/2024
2:00-4:00 pm PST