Arts and Culture

Dr. Nontsizi Cayou, 82

Published

5 years ago

October 17, 2019

Post Staff

Nontsizi Cayou, a force in the development of African diaspora culture in the Bay Area, has died at the age of 82.

Born Delores Kirton on May 19, 1937, in New Orleans La., she moved with her family to Oakland, Ca.

She had an almost insatiable appetite for education, obtaining Bachelor’s and Masters’ degrees in Spanish and Dance in the early 1960s. By 1963, she was teaching jazz dance at her alma mater, San Francisco State University and began to pursue an interest in African-derived dance and culture.

A dance student of the late Ruth Beckford, she performed professionally in many dance theaters, musical revues and dance ensembles throughout the United States, eventually founding her own ensemble of dancers, poets and musicians in 1969, which she called Wajumbe.

A Kiswahili word that means ‘people with a message,’ the group Wajumbe was anchored in Cayou’s Project ACE, an Academic and Cultural Enrichment program for under-served children in San Francisco.

As Cayou mastered more dance forms—Haitian, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Jazz, she taught master classes throughout California, and Wajumbe came to represent the vanguard of the Black Arts Movement on the West Coast.

Unabashed in openly seeking, embracing and claiming her African heritage, Cayou led Wajumbe in appearing in the 2nd annual World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977.

Four years later, she took a 21-person group on a five-state tour of Nigeria, culminating in a performance before the foremost king of the Yoruba people, the Ooni of Ile Ife.

Cayou was renowned for instituting an annual celebration of the Kwanzaa principle, Nia (purpose), at the San Francisco Center for African and African American Art and Culture that emphasized presentations by youth and children.

In the same manner, she hosted or presented Black History Month celebrations and programs at SFAAAC or at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason, bringing in international acts like the ONE steel drum band from Trinidad/Tobago; ‘Flash in the Sun’ from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and jazz sessions by saxophonists John Handy and David Hardiman.

In 1986, Cayou hosted a 45-member ensemble from Nigeria as part of a cultural exchange program with the production of ORI at the Herbst Theater, opening doors between African and the U.S. in unique ways.

In the early 1990s, she brought the World Dance Festival to San Francisco and it was held at SFSU and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Her unflagging interest and dedication to African spirituality was evident in organizing the 5th World Congress of Orisha Tradition and Culture in San Francisco in 1997. Practitioners from the motherland, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico and all over the United States attended the 10-day conference.

Cayou was also known for her sense of social justice and was instrumental in helping SFSU maintain its standing as a center for ethnic and cultural studies.

After retiring from her position as chair of the Dance Department at SFSU, she continued her quest to raise consciousness over all things African through the African American Institute and the African Trade Center.

She was an avid devotee of African spirituality and was initiated into the mysteries of Obatala in Osogbo, Nigeria, in 1977. Cayou was known for organizing initiations and ceremonies in the Bay Area and even as her health declined, she went to events resplendent in white clothing, covering every visible area of her black wheelchair with white cloth or paint. She passed away on Oct. 3, 2019.

She was so beloved by Baba Ifayemi Elebulban, that he traveled from Nigeria to attend her final services.

A solemn celebration of life will be on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Seventh Avenue Missionary Baptist Church at 1740 Seventh Ave., in Oakland. Interment will follow at Rolling Hills Cemetery in Richmond and mourners will return to the church for a repast.

An Orisha Cultural Tribute will take place at the Greenlining Institute, 360 14th St., from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

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Arts and Culture

Beverly Lorraine Greene: A Pioneering Architect and Symbol of Possibility and Progress

Greene graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1936 with a degree in Architecture — a remarkable accomplishment for an African American woman at the time. She was never discouraged by the racial and gender discrimination that saturated her field.

Published

3 weeks ago

March 3, 2025

Oakland Post

Beverly Lorraine Greene. Public domain photo.

By Tamara Shiloh

In the mid-20th century, Beverly Lorraine Greene was recognized as the first African American woman licensed to practice architecture in the United States.

Greene was born on Oct. 4, 1915, in Chicago during an era when opportunities for African Americans, particularly women, were severely limited.

Her parents, James and Vera Greene, were deeply invested in her education, instilling in her a belief in the power of intellect and perseverance. She grew up during the Great Migration that transformed Chicago starting in 1900.

Greene continued her education, earning a master’s degree in City Planning and Housing in 1937, also from the University of Illinois. Her ambition was not merely to design structures but to shape spaces that fostered equity and community. In 1942, she became the first African American woman licensed as an architect in the United States, obtaining her credentials in Illinois. This groundbreaking achievement, however, did not translate immediately into job opportunities.

Early in her career, she faced significant discrimination from firms unwilling to hire a Black woman. However, her determination never wavered. In 1945, Beverly moved to New York City, a place she believed could offer broader professional opportunities.

She joined the architectural department of the New York City Housing Authority, focusing on affordable housing projects. Her work during this time reflected her commitment to using architecture as a tool for social justice, ensuring that marginalized communities had access to well-designed, dignified living spaces.

Greene’s talents soon drew the attention of prominent firms. She was hired by Isadore Rosenfield, a respected architect known for designing hospitals. She contributed to the design of healthcare facilities, including the modernization of Harlem Hospital. Her portfolio expanded in collaboration with architectural personalities such as Marcel Breuer and Edward Durell Stone.

Notably, she worked on the prestigious UNESCO headquarters in Paris — a landmark project that brought her skills to an international stage. Her involvement underscored her ability to navigate the intricacies of large-scale, global projects, proving that her talents transcended the limitations society sought to impose.

Greene’s career was tragically cut short when she passed away unexpectedly in 1957 at the age of 41. Though her life was brief, her impact was profound. She shattered entrenched barriers, paving the way for future generations of Black architects and women in the field.

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Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 19, 2025

Oakland Post

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32^nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.

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McClymonds High Names School Gym for Star Graduate, Basketball Legend Bill Russell

William “Bill” Felton Russell was born on Feb. 12, 1934, and died on July 31, 2022. He achieved fame as a U.S. professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Bill Russell and Brian McGhee in McClymonds High School Gym, 2011. Photo courtesy of Brian McGhee.

By Ken Epstein

West Oakland’s McClymonds High School, “the School of Champions,” this week named the school’s gymnasium in honor of one of its most famous graduates, basketball legend Bill Russell (class of ’52).

Russell is widely known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama for Russell’s contributions to basketball and the Civil Rights Movement.

The McClymonds’ naming ceremony was held on Wednesday, the same day as Russell’s birthday. Oakland leader Bill Patterson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the gym, which had been closed for several months for renovation. Russell’s daughter Karen was scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

Russell’s name and signature are now printed on the gymnasium floor.

Patterson was working at DeFremery Park when he met Russell. “I befriended him as a boy and during his years at University of San Francisco” said Patterson. “We stayed friends for the rest of his life.”

Said McClymonds Principal Darielle Davis, herself a McClymonds graduate, “We are excited to honor Bill Russell for his sports accolades and because he broke color barriers. He is part of our legacy, and legacy is really important at McClymonds.”

Brian McGhee, community schools manager at McClymonds and former football player at UC Berkeley, said that Russell meant a lot to him and others at the school. “He was a beacon of light and hope for West Oakland,” he said. “He did a lot for sports and for civil rights.”

Starting in 2018, Ben “Coach” Tapscott worked with Patterson and other McClymonds grads, community members, and former coaches to encourage the Oakland Board of Education to endorse the naming of the school gym, which finally happened recently.

“We worked hard to make this happen,” said Tapscott. “He’s an important part of McClymond’s history, along with a lot of other famous graduates,” he said.