What if all displaced Black San Francisco residents were called home to honor their community's history and progress? This was the central theme for #BlacktoSF, a Black History event co-hosted by PTBi, and Expecting Justice which took place Radio Africa Kitchen in the Bayview. Over 100 attendees crowded into the brightly colored restaurant to witness a powerful line-up of seven Black Bay Area performers.
Throughout the night, attendees also learned about doulas, preterm birth, and some of the research that is being done to address the health and racial inequities around birth.
Expecting Justice's Zea Malawa and PTBi's Alexis Cobbins introduce the evening.
Ronnell Smith and Ivan Dance With Me perform on the snares.
The evening's performances included:
- Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” sang by Miya Cain.
- Youth from Heat Dance Line who performed an expression of resistance and power through dance.
- Snare drum teacher-and-student duo Ronnell Smith aka superdrummer100, and five-year-old student Ivan Dance With Me.
- Spoken word artist and poet Marlee-I Mystic shared heartfelt pieces about maternal mortality and Black liberation.
- KJ Focus and Rob Woods performed a rap with live saxophone.
- Spoken word artist Jeremy Michael Vasquez lit the crowd with his powerful pieces on Black History Month and fatherhood.
- Steven Norman Long performed soulful guitar and vocals.
- Father and son DJ duo Miles & Ryan Richardson closed out the night.
We were honored to have been able to participate in hosting space for our communities to perform and celebrate within the Bayview. See more of the night and performances on our Instagram stories.
