Black History

The Tina Turner Musical Excites in San Francisco

The Broadway musical about the late Tina Turner was developed in 2016, previewed in England in 2018, brought to Broadway in New York from 2019 to 2022, is now touring nationally, ending it’s San Francisco run on Aug. 27. It will run from Aug. 29- Sept. 3, in San Jose at the San Jose Center.

Published

2 years ago

August 28, 2023

Oakland Post

Naomi Rodgers portrays Tina Turner in the Broadway production of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” Courtesy photo.

By Lee Hubbard

“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” brings the life of the soulful rock star to vibrant life onstage at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco.

The three-week run was well received, unfolding the story of Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock n’ Roll, who started out as a talented child whose given name was Anna Mae Bullock.

Her life story was made into a successful movie starring Angela Bassett as Turner in 1993, where it was met with worldwide acclaim and newfound stardom for Bassett and a refocus on Turner’s career.

The Broadway musical about the late Tina Turner was developed in 2016, previewed in England in 2018, brought to Broadway in New York from 2019 to 2022, and is now touring nationally, ending its San Francisco run on Aug. 27. It will run from Aug. 29- Sept. 3, in San Jose at the San Jose Center.

The two-hour and 45-minute production opens with Turner, born in Nutbush, Tenn., with a young Anna Mae Bullock, portrayed by Ayvah Johnson, singing in a church. Johnson has a strong and very mature voice and gets the crowd excited in the scene opening, prompting her mother, Zelma (Roz White), to tell her to tone it down.

Abused by her husband, Zelma takes her daughter, Alline (Paris Lewis), to St. Louis and leaves Bullock to be raised by her father and grandmother, Gran Georgeanna (Ann Nesby).

The now-grown Bullock, played by Naomi Rodgers, moves to St. Louis to reconnect with her mother and sister. There is a slight resentment from her mother, but Tina’s sister bonds with her, and the two are happy. Alline wants to get her out of the house and away from doing daily chores.

Out one night, the two sisters go to a nightclub where they meet Ike Turner (Roderick Lawrence) and his band, the Kings of Rhythm. Anna Mae jumps on stage and mesmerizes the crowd; the rest is history. Ike sees a star and goes to Zelma to ask permission to have Anna Mae join his band.

Bullock joins and becomes the female lead. Ike then renames her Tina Turner, and the two have a rocky friendship, relationship, marriage, and music career that spanned the 1960s and most of the 1970s. She garnered several No. 1 hits with Ike Turner and then as a soloist with Grammy-winning producer Phil Spector.

After divorcing Ike, Turner is at a low point, but her career gets a second wind in the 1980s after she meets a young producer, and she goes to Europe to record. An emancipated Tina Turner recorded the hits “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” and “The Best,” making her a household name in her own right.

As Tina, Rodgers has a commanding stage presence, and she is a star. Full of energy, she is relentless on the stage. She meshes well with Roderick Lawrence, who, as Ike Turner, is also a compelling figure.

“Ike was a complex and broken man,” said Lawrence in an interview. “He went through a lot of trauma as a young man. He was a man who started Rock n’ Roll and never got the credit for it.”

He also had an eye for talent. At one time, Turner had Jimmy Hendrix in his band, but he kicked him out for using drugs. It would be his own drug use that would turn Ike Turner into a batterer and abuser in his personal relationships.

Once he got the role as Ike Turner, Lawrence wanted to make sure he didn’t go back and watch “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”

“He had everyone taken from him and a lot of things taken from him,” continued Lawrence.

As a result, Ike was always on edge, leading to his drug usage and worsening things in his musical and personal life. Ultimately, at the end of Zelma’s life, in real life and in the play, Ike asks Tina for forgiveness.

“I was able to sit down and talk to his family members, who saw the play,” said Lawrence. “He was like an August Wilson character, a very complex man, and I wanted to make sure I really made him more well-rounded.”

Lawrence said he is pleased with his portrayal of Ike and the reception of the play in San Francisco and across the country, where it will be running through the spring of 2024.

“The reception to the play has been great,” continued Lawrence. “It has been phenomenal.”

“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” is playing at the Golden Gate Theater at 1 Taylor Street in San Francisco through August 27 and from Aug. 29-Sept. 3 in San Jose at the San Jose Center. For more information on the play,

https://www.san-francisco-theater.com/theaters/golden-gate-theater/tina-the-tina-turner-musical.php

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Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

Published

2 days ago

March 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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Report Offers Policies, Ideas to Improve the Workplace Experiences of Black Women in California

The “Invisible Labor, Visible Struggles: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Workplace Equity for Black Women in California” report by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), unveiled the findings of a December 2024 survey of 452 employed Black women across the Golden State. Three-fifths of the participants said they experienced racism or discrimination last year and 57% of the unfair treatment was related to incidents at work.

Published

7 days ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

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By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Backed by data, a report released last month details the numerous hurdles Black women in the Golden State must overcome to effectively contribute and succeed in the workplace.

The “Invisible Labor, Visible Struggles: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Workplace Equity for Black Women in California” report by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), unveiled the findings of a December 2024 survey of 452 employed Black women across the Golden State. Three-fifths of the participants said they experienced racism or discrimination last year and 57% of the unfair treatment was related to incidents at work.

CBWCEI President and CEO Kellie Todd Griffin said Black women have been the backbone of communities, industries, and movements but are still overlooked, underpaid, and undervalued at work.

“The data is clear,” she explained. “Systemic racism and sexism are not just historical injustices. They are active forces shaping the workplace experiences of Black women today. This report is a call to action. it demands intentional polices, corporate accountability, and systemic changes.”

The 16-page study, conducted by the public opinion research and strategic consulting firm EVITARUS, showcases the lived workplace experiences of Black women, many who say they are stuck in the crosshairs of discrimination based on gender and race which hinders their work opportunities, advancements, and aspirations, according to the report’s authors, Todd Griffin and CBWCEI researcher Dr. Sharon Uche.

“We wanted to look at how Black women are experiencing the workplace where there are systematic barriers,” Todd Griffin told the media during a press conference co-hosted by Ethnic Media Services and California Black Media. “This report is focused on the invisible labor struggles of Black women throughout California.”

The aspects of the workplace most important to Black women, according to those surveyed, are salary or wage, benefits, and job security.

However, only 21% of the survey’s respondents felt they had strong chances for career advancement into the executive or senior leadership ranks in California’s job market; 49% felt passed over, excluded from, or marginalized at work; and 48% felt their accomplishments at work were undervalued. Thirty-eight percent said they had been thought of as the stereotypical “angry Black woman” at work, and 42% said workplace racism or discrimination effected their physical or mental health.

“These sentiments play a factor in contributing to a workplace that is unsafe and not equitable for Black women in California,” the report reads.

Most Black women said providing for their families and personal fulfillment motivated them to show up to work daily, while 38% said they were dissatisfied in their current job with salary, supervisors, and work environment being the top sources of their discontent.

When asked if they agree or disagree with a statement about their workplace 58% of Black women said they feel supported at work, while 52% said their contributions are acknowledged. Forty-nine percent said they felt empowered.

Uche said Black women are paid $54,000 annually on average — including Black single mothers, who averaged $50,000 — while White men earn an average of $90,000 each year.

“More than half of Black families in California are led by single Black women,” said Uche, who added that the pay gap between Black women and White men isn’t forecasted to close until 2121.

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Alameda County

Trump Order Slashes Federal Agencies Supporting Minority Business and Neighborhood Development

The latest executive order targeted several federal agencies, including the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, ordering that their programs and staff be reduced “to the minimum presence and function required by law.” The executive order targeted more agencies that Trump “has determined are unnecessary,” the order stated.

Published

7 days ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Brandon Patterson

On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order slashing the operations of two federal agencies supporting growth in minority business and neighborhoods as he continued his attacks on programs supporting people of color and on the size of the federal bureaucracy.

The MBDA’s mission is to “promote the growth and global competitiveness” of minority business enterprises, or MBEs. In 2023, according to its website, the agency helped MBEs access $1.5 billion in capital and facilitated nearly $3.8 billion in contracts awarded to minority business enterprises. It also helped MBEs create or sustain more than 19,000 jobs nationwide. Similarly, the CDFI Fund supports economic growth in under-invested communities by providing funding and technical assistance to local CDFIs, including banks, loan funds, and credit unions, that support community development projects in cities across the country. In 2023, the fund supported more than 1,400 local CDFIs across the country, including more than 80 in California — among the highest number for any state in the country.

The MBDA has local satellite business centers operated by organizations that support minority clients with services such as business consulting, contract bid preparation, loan packaging, and accessing capital funding. The San Francisco Bay Area business center is San Jose, operated by San Francisco-based organization Asian, Inc. Meanwhile, local Oakland CDFIs supported by the federal CDFI fund since 2021 include Habitat Community Capital, TMC Community Capital, Gateway Bank Federal Savings Bank, Beneficial State Bancorp, Inc., and Main Street Launch.

“It is clear that the hollowing out of the CDFI Fund and MBDA is not being ordered because those programs have failed in their mission,” the CEO of Small Business Majority John Arensmeyer, a national organization that advocates for small businesses, said in a statement on Saturday. “Instead, it is yet another case of President Trump using DEI as a club to eviscerate programs that seek to level our economic playing field.”

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon also slammed the decision in a statement to the Oakland Post. “As a member of the House Small Business Committee who represents multiple CDFIs in CA-12, I believe Trump’s gutting of operations at the Minority Business Development Agency and at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is a direct attack on small businesses, communities of color and other underserved communities,” Rep. Simon said. “Both the MBDA and the CDFI Fund were created with bipartisan support to help historically underserved communities and small businesses — and both programs have helped to dramatically change the material realities of people and bolster entrepreneurship in the U.S. There is no logic to this decision. The point is discrimination and cruelty.”