Bay Area
The Jollof Festival Brings Together Oakland Community
The Jollof Festival began its national run in Oakland on Saturday July 13. The festival was held outside at 1255 Seventh St., near the West Oakland BART Station. The event was co-produced by Ishmael Osekre, Quiana Webster, and Njleone. The Jollof Festival started 17 years ago, an event centered around a prevalent debate in Black culture: Who makes the best Jollof? Each year every city the festival visits gets to vote on which West African country makes the best Jollof.
By Daisha Williams
The Jollof Festival began its national run in Oakland on Saturday July 13. The festival was held outside at 1255 Seventh St., near the West Oakland BART Station.
The event was co-produced by Ishmael Osekre, Quiana Webster, and Njleone. The Jollof Festival started 17 years ago, an event centered around a prevalent debate in Black culture: Who makes the best Jollof? Each year every city the festival visits gets to vote on which West African country makes the best Jollof.
In response to local requests, the festival began coming to Oakland in 2018. The Bay has been incredibly welcoming – this year there was a line down the block even hours after the festival had started.
On the walls of the Seventh Street building were beautiful murals and artwork even adorned the fence surrounding the event, adding to the vibe of the space.
Vendors – including Vibrant Designs and Red Ruby Boutique – rimmed the venue, separated from a seating area with the dance floor in the center. Also along the perimeter was the tasting area where people could order food or pick up their pre-ordered plate. AfroEats, MAMA”s Sauces and Marinades, and Eko Kitchen were among the caterers.
Although the rice is what brings people to the festival, community is really the heart of it. People stay long after the rice is gone, dancing, talking, and singing together.
“Our focus is on Jollof rice and this really fun cultural banter that is happening around it. But it’s not just food… there are all these activities that make it a fun, friendly, communal, and intercultural experience.” said co-producer Osekre.
Like a true cultural event, the thing that brought the most people together was the music. Everyone was on the dance floor, feeling the music that vibrated through the event. There were DJ’s such as DJ Leonne Brayo the DJ and performers including @jahniahomi and @olujazz on Instagram.
Fun for all ages, many families brought their kids and there was even a corner with games for them to play.
Around an hour before the event was over organizers called up volunteer judges from the audience. Each judge tested four different rice plates and rated each on a scale of 1 to 10. Everyone quieted as the scores were being announced, reacting loudly afterwards.
This was the most exciting part of the event with everyone rooting for their own countries.
Before the judging they emphasized that it doesn’t matter who wins because we’re all united as a community.
On July 20 the Jollof Festival will be in Atlanta, Georgia. It will then go to Washington, D.C., Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Durham, Dallas, and finally Houston.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
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.
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 32nd 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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Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025
Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
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