Arts and Culture

Renowned Sculptor Bruce Beasley and the Art of Philanthropy

Published

10 years ago

January 27, 2015

Twenty-five hundred years ago, Sun Tzu wrote the classic book of military strategy, “The Art of War,” based on Chinese warfare and military thought.

Since that time, all levels of the military have adapted teachings of Sun Tzu about warfare and civilization and applied them to our every-day environments.

The “Art of Philanthropy” encompasses a similar set of principles that define the ‘tools and rules’ of giving, and also shows the path to a set of expected outcomes if understood and effectively applied.

Enter sculptor Bruce Beasley, life-long resident of West Oakland.

Beasley’s career as a sculptor began in 1962 when he graduated from UC Berkeley.

Most graduating students start their careers in their chosen fields at an “entry-level” position in a business. As a graduating art student, Bruce had a different “entry-level” experience when he entered the world of art.

In 1962, the Museum of Modern Art acquired one of his sculptures, making him the youngest artist to have their work in the permanent collection of the flagship of modern art museums.

The following year, he was one of 11 artists to represent the U.S. at the Biennale de Paris, where French Minister of Culture Andre Malraux awarded him the purchase prize.

The professorial staff in the art department at UC Berkeley asked Bruce to join them and pursue a career in academia.

But Bruce had other ideas.

He rented a dilapidated building in West Oakland to begin his art career. He soon discovered a building that was for sale and was considering making West Oakland his permanent home.

“Everyone advised me that ‘It was the right building but in the wrong neighborhood.’ There were no city services, no street lights, no curbs and gutters, no street trees, it was red-lined by the banks, and West Oakland was pretty much considered a no-go area by most people,” he continued.

He thought to himself, “If it’s the right building, why not help turn the wrong neighborhood into the right neighborhood? As a young artist, my economic status was similar to my neighbors, but I knew that was really a voluntary choice on my part because of pursuing an art career. I had options that my neighbors did not. My neighbor’s economic status was involuntary.”

This was the point at which he realized he needed to turn a vague and unfocused sense of social responsibility into real action aimed at real, tangible change. He has honed this skill over the span of his artistic career.

A few months ago, Bruce bequeathed $20 million in property and art to the Oakland Museum of California to create a Sculpture Center in West Oakland.

This legacy gift is the foundation of what Bruce envisions will propel sculptors, artists and artisans, and their works to the next level.

In the single gesture of this gift, he has ‘paid forward’ his notion of social responsibility and set precedence for others to follow.

“I chose the museum as my beneficiary because they have the long view,” said Beasley. “They are strategic and thoughtful about how their work fits within the context of what’s gone on before and what’s coming next.”

One of the defining characteristics of the philanthropist is his or her ability to step back from their work and see the bigger picture.

Bruce sees the big picture.

“Art is something that all Oaklanders should have the opportunity to enjoy, and Bruce understands that,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “We are grateful for Bruce’s continued commitment to bettering his community through creativity and philanthropy.”

Conway Jones. Artwork by Errol Zachery.

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New Oakland Moving Forward

This week, several socially enterprising members of this group visited Oakland to explore ways to collaborate with local stakeholders at Youth Empowerment Partnership, the Port of Oakland, Private Industry Council, Oakland, Mayor-elect Barbara Lee, the Oakland Ballers ownership group, and the oversight thought leaders in the Alameda County Probation Department.

Published

4 days ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Post Staff

Since the African American Sports and Entertainment Group purchased the City of Oakland’s share of the Alameda County Coliseum Complex, we have been documenting the positive outcomes that are starting to occur here in Oakland.

Some of the articles in the past have touched on actor Blair Underwood’s mission to breathe new energy into the social fabric of Oakland. He has joined the past efforts of Steph and Ayesha Curry, Mistah Fab, Green Day, Too Short, and the Oakland Ballers.

This week, several socially enterprising members of this group visited Oakland to explore ways to collaborate with local stakeholders at Youth Empowerment Partnership, the Port of Oakland, Private Industry Council, Oakland, Mayor-Elect Barbara Lee, the Oakland Ballers ownership group, and the oversight thought leaders in the Alameda County Probation Department.

These visits represent a healthy exchange of ideas and plans to resuscitate Oakland’s image. All parties felt that the potential to impact Oakland is right in front of us. Most recently, on the back side of these visits, the Oakland Ballers and Blair Underwood committed to a 10-year lease agreement to support community programs and a community build-out.

So, upward and onward with the movement of New Oakland.

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Arts and Culture

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss, and Legacy

When Bridgett M. Davis was in college, her sister Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Love Rita Book Cover. Courtesy of Harper.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Bridgett M. Davis, c.2025, Harper, $29.99, 367 Pages

Take care.

Do it because you want to stay well, upright, and away from illness. Eat right, swallow your vitamins and hydrate, keep good habits and hygiene, and cross your fingers. Take care as much as you can because, as in the new book, “Love, Rita” by Bridgett M. Davis, your well-being is sometimes out of your hands.

It was a family story told often: when Davis was born, her sister, Rita, then four years old, stormed up to her crying newborn sibling and said, ‘Shut your … mouth!’

Rita, says Davis, didn’t want a little sister then. She already had two big sisters and a neighbor who was somewhat of a “sister,” and this baby was an irritation. As Davis grew, the feeling was mutual, although she always knew that Rita loved her.

Over the years, the sisters tried many times not to fight — on their own and at the urging of their mother — and though division was ever present, it eased when Rita went to college. Davis was still in high school then, and she admired her big sister.

She eagerly devoured frequent letters sent to her in the mail, signed, “Love, Rita.”

When Davis was in college herself, Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

First, they lost their father. Drugs then invaded the family and addiction stole two siblings. A sister and a young nephew were murdered in a domestic violence incident. Their mother was devastated; Rita’s lupus was an “added weight of her sorrow.”

After their mother died of colon cancer, Rita’s lupus took a turn for the worse.

“Did she even stand a chance?” Davis wrote in her journal.

“It just didn’t seem possible that she, someone so full of life, could die.”

Let’s start here: once you get past the prologue in “Love, Rita,” you may lose interest. Maybe.

Most of the stories that author Bridgett M. Davis shares are mildly interesting, nothing rare, mostly commonplace tales of growing up in the 1960s and ’70s with a sibling. There are a lot of these kinds of stories, and they tend to generally melt together. After about fifty pages of them, you might start to think about putting the book aside.

But don’t. Not quite yet.

In between those everyday tales, Davis occasionally writes about being an ailing Black woman in America, the incorrect assumptions made by doctors, the history of medical treatment for Black people (women in particular), attitudes, and mythologies. Those passages are now and then, interspersed, but worth scanning for.

This book is perhaps best for anyone with the patience for a slow-paced memoir, or anyone who loves a Black woman who’s ill or might be ill someday. If that’s you and you can read between the lines, then “Love, Rita” is a book to take in carefully.

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Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.