Rightnowish

A few years back, Victor Harris Jr. was selling maple peach bourbon cheesecakes at an Oakland event. He says an older African American woman sampled a slice and he watched as her eyes rolled back in her head before they re-focused on on him. She asked Victor to come closer, so he leaned in and she smacked him softly in the face. Then she complimented his work and ordered a cake to go. Victor, who...

Ashleyanne Krigbaum spins vinyl at weddings and dive bars, sound designs museum audio tours, and was the founding producer of KQED's arts and culture podcast, Rightnowish. You might've heard of it. Ashleyanne, who can trace her East Bay roots back for a few generations, grew up along the Delta in the town of Bethel Island. And after calling Berkley home for the past couple of years, she's decided...

Erina Alejo is an educator, artist and cultural artifact keeper. But when asked how they self-identify, Alejo says they're, "a third-generation renter." Alejo's grand-aunt immigrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1959. Soon after, other family members joined. They lived in the East Bay city of Pittsburg, before moving to San Francisco. They've been renters the whole time. Now Alejo, who...

Oakland's Joshua Johnson knows about the commitment, focus and strategy it takes to compete at a high level. He's a professional NFL quarterback with over ten years of experience in the league. And recently, he's taken those same qualities to the world of online gaming. Johnson is a co-founder of the Ultimate Gaming League (UGL), an e-sports platform where gamers compete, create community, and tal...

With all that's going on in the world, some folks might overlook the presidential election that's in less than three months. But not Tracey L. Ross, and she's getting the word out about the importance of this election. Tracey, who was raised and politicized in Oakland, currently works as the Director of Federal Policy and Narrative Change at PolicyLink. This means she serves as a bridge between po...

Michael Muscadine was born and raised in East Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood, where his family goes back several generations. Muscadine says that's where his grandfather, John Melendrez, instilled in him the idea of community oriented social activism.  Now Muscadine works as a life coach at the Fruitvale-based nonprofit, CURYJ, which stands for Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice. M...

As the Director of Homeless Services for the Alameda Health System and the Chief Clinical Officer with Health Leads, Dr. Damon Francis has his hands full. Before the pandemic, Dr. Damon performed heath checkups, tests, and provided resources for people living without shelter and those living with HIV. This year he's taken on treating people living with the virus and informing people how to prevent...

Amir Abdul-Shakur's Instagram page, AmirThePhotographer, looks like a community yearbook. His shots are mostly portraits of Black folks in Oakland, and show each individual in their own radiant light. His images, some of protests and others of parties, all seem to have an underlying joyous sentiment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dania Cabello is a former professional fútbol player, who now teaches the sport to young folks through the program Oakland Street Stylers. She was one of the main characters in the film Futbolistas 4 Life and is a producer on the series, The North Pole. But her most recent venture involves juicing marijuana leaves to make healing salves and bath salts; and her company is called Ojo De La Sol. Afte...

"I'm doing a flip off the boat," said Jarrel Phillips, breaking down last year's performance at Remembering 1619, a play directed by Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theatre, which acknowledges the first shipment of enslaved Africans reaching Virginia 400 years ago. "I'm one of the ones that decides, 'I'm not having this, yo, I'm out,'" says Jarrel, summarizing his character in the play. His onstage...

DAGHE Digital is just about as unique as they come. He's a West Oakland kid, who's clear about his West African roots, as his family hails from Nigeria. He grew up a socialite who turf danced and threw "functions" for people who weren't old enough to go to legit clubs. He's grown to become a brand creator, clothing designer, music producer and more. But his main job? Going stupid on the turntables...

Is police reform actually achievable? That's the question I'm most interested in asking Regina Jackson. Ms. Regina, as she's often called, has been the Executive Director of the East Oakland Youth Development Center since 1994. That's where she perfected her system of mentorship and community engagement. In 2017, Ms. Regina was elected to a four-year term as the Chair of the Oakland Police Commiss...

Hadiyah Daché is an esthetician from East Palo Alto, who recently relocated her Fairy Glow Mother business to Oakland. Her skincare work covers everything finding remedies for acne to waxing intimate areas, and there's so much more to it. In this conversation, we touch on Hadiyah's roots in EPA, her entrepreneurial drive and why skincare is deeper than just applying sunblock-- which she suggests y...

Sydney Nycole is a singer and songwriter from Berkeley who has been making music since she was a teen. And although her father (and manager) Gary Reeves has been in the industry since the 1980s, Sydney found this passion on her own. Once it was established that Sydney, a free spirit who has no problem speaking her mind, was on the path to becoming an artist, it was on Gary to make sure he did his...

Poet Tiffany Banks is the host of Speak On It, a weekly poetry night that usually takes place at Liege Lounge in Old Oakland. But since California has been sheltering in place, the poetry night has taken to the digital realm-- and now the talented performers hop on a big Zoom call just about every Wednesday night to share their work. As the host of this event, it's on Tiffany to organize the video...

Porsche Nicole Kelly is an Oakland based motivational speaker, poet and author of the book, 2 Kinds of Fire. For this week's episode of Rightnowish, I step back and let the wordsmith speak to us as only she can, through her poetic critique of race in society in the form of her poem, "Jokes." The poem grapples with cases of police brutality and white nationalist violence. Do what you need to take c...

Over the past nine months, I've had the luxury of getting to know some of the most interesting artists and activists the Bay Area has to offer. As the host of the Rightnowish podcast, it's been my goal to give them a platform, while taking a step back. But this week, given all that has occurred in relation to police brutality and protests, I have something to say.  Today's episode of Rightnowish i...

For the past three months, San Francisco's Jamal Trulove has been working with UCSF’s Science Policy Group in order to get masks, hand sanitizer and information to groups that have been most impacted by COVID-19. You might've heard a little bit about Trulove's story. He's an actor, who played the role of Kofi in the 2019 film, The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He's a rapper, under the stage nam...

Chris Riggins has performed on stages across the Bay Area and beyond. And as his career was in mid-stride -- COVID-19 hit. Now Riggins is adjusting to a world where comedy performances, like many forms of art, are happening online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sumayyah Monét Franklin is a birth rights activist, doula and owner of Sumi’s Touch.  She gives advice to potential parents on conception, coaches new parents through postpartum and is with parents during the birthing process-- she's attended over 500 births and counting.  As of late, caution around potentially being exposed to COVID-19 has made many people wary about even going to traditional hea...

When Felicia Gangloff-Bailey and Karega Bailey's newborn daughter, Kamaiu, passed last year, the couple says they became "angel parents." It's a term that exemplifies their seemingly ever-present optimism and uplifting approach to dealing with grief. This mindset is something the duo brings to their professional life as well, working as educators and restorative justice practitioners. They're also...

Mike Nicholls is the founder of Umber magazine, a publication dedicated to telling the stories of Black and Brown artists from the Bay Area. It's so invested in those narratives, the pages are brown and the ink is black. For the magazine's third issue, which was released last summer, the theme was Sound. Nicholls, who grew up with an intense stutter, says he's always found it easier to express him...

Oakland MC Passwurdz 510 is a professional battle rapper. That means he gets paid to go on stage and publicly humiliate his opponents. It's an art form that dates back to the early days of Hip Hop and has been depicted in movies like 8 Mile. On top of being a competition of lyrical prowess, these battles provide comedic relief for audiences - and a cathartic release for artists, as well. Passwurdz...

Paris Warr's dream job has always been to work in a mortuary. Now she's worried about how Covid-19 will impact her industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Radio host DC is working non-stop during shelter-in-place, and he has a pretty good idea of how others in the entertainment industry are dealing with everything that is (and isn't) happening in the Bay Area. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices