Light Essence Design
Stephanie Anne Johnson — Photo by Joan Osanto
New exhibit showcases vital contribution of African Americans to Berkeley
A new Berkeley Historical Society exhibit open Sunday May 16 - Oct. 10, 2021 (onsite and online) showcases the influence of African Americans in the city from 1940 to 2000, featuring flourishing business and churches, a vibrant political and social scene, and prominent Black residents who helped shape Berkeley’s reputation as a diverse destination city.
Harvey Smith and Dr. Stephanie Johnson, co-curators of the “African Americans in Berkeley’s History and Legacy” exhibit, make final preparations before the second leg of the three-part series opens Sunday, May 16, 2021. Credit: Kelly Sullivan
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“African Americans in Berkeley’s History and Legacy” - Co-curators: Harvey Smith and Dr. Stephanie Johnson
The exhibit highlights the Rainbow Sign, an African American cultural and social center that drew influential Black artists and activists from all over the country to Berkeley in the 1970s, which was frequented by Vice President Kamala Harris and her family when she was a child. Other Black political figures who visited the center included Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968; Ron Dellums, who grew up in Oakland and was a Berkeley City Councilman before representing the region in Congress; and Huey P. Newton, who founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland in 1966. See All About It> |
Oakland Theater Project's 'Binding Ties' - EXTENDED to Sun. March 7, 2021
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"Oakland Theater Project's 'Binding Ties' makes 16th Street Station come alive! The Project's drive-in, site-specific show uses projected slides, and FM station and an in-person actor.... The show, created by Stephanie Anne Johnson with Michael Copeland Sydnor (who died in 2012), so awakens the station's ghosts that when a car's headlights beam from a side street, your brain might momentarily think the light comes from a Southern Pacific engine." SF Chronicle
SEE MORE> Program Notes, Reviews from the SF Chronicle, Broadway World and Local News Matters. Also hear Wanda Sabir's interview with Stephanie. TICKETS: oaklandtheaterproject.org/binding-ties -SOLD OUT
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Google Stephanie Anne Johnson and you’ll likely find a Wikipedia page written about her as both visual artist and lighting designer. The Afro Urban Society wanted to know a little more about her than a Wikipedia entry. After all, Wikipedia won’t tell you that she is a biblio-holic with a house filled with books. Or that she wants Black folks to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE and run for elected and policy-making commissions and committees. Or that she is one of very few professional Black lighting designers in California.
PODCAST • January 20, 2021 "When we Know Better We Can do Better" – Chris Lose with Stephanie Anne Johnson
On this episode, we discuss being one of very few professional Black lighting designers in California, being a second-generation theater practitioner, the role of race in shaping the work of the local theater and how to encourage diversity in entertainment, how public policy can be shaped to increase diversity, being able to express yourself in multiple mediums, the power of public performance, paving the way for future generations and the possibility of a Secretary of the Arts in the US cabinet.
On this episode, we discuss being one of very few professional Black lighting designers in California, being a second-generation theater practitioner, the role of race in shaping the work of the local theater and how to encourage diversity in entertainment, how public policy can be shaped to increase diversity, being able to express yourself in multiple mediums, the power of public performance, paving the way for future generations and the possibility of a Secretary of the Arts in the US cabinet.
