Art
Broadway Success of Black Artists Revealed in ‘Footnotes’
Caseen Gaines explores the question, how long will your star stay aloft?
![](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/resized-photos-1-2.jpg)
You can’t see where the roar is coming from.
But you can hear it, and that’s what matters. The role was made for you, you hit every line and note, the audience loved you – and now the roar of cheers and applause is yours.
How long does the standing ovation last? How hard do they clap? And, in her new book “Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way”
Caseen Gaines explores the question, how long will your star stay aloft?
Growing up in an affluent Black neighborhood in Columbia, Tenn., Flournoy Miller had everything he could ever want – and when he was 9 years old, he wanted to be onstage. It was 1894, and his parents had taken him to see Sissieretta Jones, a famous soprano and one of the highest-paid Black entertainers of the day.
“Miller,” says Gaines, “was captivated.”
And yet, growing up, Miller knew that fame was a dangerous reach. Every Black entertainer seemed to know someone who was killed by white folks for no reason, but once Miller met Aubrey Lyles in 1903 and “the two hit it off right away,” the warning was ignored.
Miller, in fact, was more determined than ever for fame, and the two developed a popular comedy act.
From the time he was a child, Noble Sissle loved to sing. Few things pleased him more than a chance to perform in church and, while it was expected that he would become a minister like his father, he grew more passionate about music.
When Sissle took a job in Baltimore, he met Eubie Blake, a talented pianist who grew up in a Godly house as a child and honed his talents at brothels as a teenager. They, too, became fast friends and eventual collaborators.
It’s a small world, and because they worked in the same industry, Miller and Lyles knew Sissle and Blake and there was mutual respect all around. They had kicked around the idea of working together on a show, but the idea didn’t coalesce until early 1921.
And, “with nothing but a handshake agreement..” says Gaines, “the quartet agreed to give it a shot.”
The nicest thing about “Footnotes” is this: you don’t have to be a theater-goer to enjoy it. You don’t ever have to have even seen a play. You can love this lively, sparkling book for no reason but just because.
Though it takes a while to get there and though it may not seem like it, the main subject of this book is the musical, “Shuffle Along.” Gaines seems to use this main feature as a backdrop as he wraps biographies, history, and everyday life around that century-old show to demonstrate how it came to be and why it was so important to Black culture.
There’s racism in this tale, of course, but also determination and a sense of opulence and grandeur, at times. It can be a feel-good story, but one that hurts, too.
Shakespeare said, “The play’s the thing” and so is “Footnotes.” If you love Broadway, history, or books on culture, it’ll make you roar.
“Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way” by Caseen Gaines. c.2021, Sourcebooks $26.99 / higher in Canada 448 pages
Activism
Griot Theater Company Presents August Wilson’s Work at Annual Oratorical Featuring Black Authors
The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.
![Late playwright August Wilson. Wikipedia photo.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/august-wilson-featured-web.jpg)
By Godfrey Lee
Griot Theater Company will present their Fifth Annual Oratorical with August Wilson’s “Half a Century,” at the Belrose on 1415 Fifth Ave., in San Rafael near the San Rafael Public Library.
The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.
Previous performance highlighting essential Black American authors included Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry with Langston Hughes.
The play will be performed at 3:00. p.m. on Feb. 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28 at 7:00 p.m., and on Feb. 23 at 3:00 p.m.
For more information, go to griottheatercompany.squarespace.com/productions-v2
Activism
Oakland Community Art Center is Helping Immigrants Heal from Trauma
The programs are catered to youth and adults with programs called “Arts in Schools” and “Arts and Wellness.” Students are encouraged to participate in music, crafts, and dancing. In contrast, adults can join support groups to connect with others and receive mental health resources to alleviate trauma they may have previously experienced.
![ARTogether is a community organization that allows immigrant and refugee residents a space to express themselves through an artful and creative outlet. IStock photo.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/stop-the-hate-community-art-center-featured-web.jpg)
By Magaly Muñoz
A local community art center ARTogether is creating a safe place for immigrants and refugees one craft at a time.
After Donald Trump’s first presidential term started in 2017, Leva Zand saw firsthand the impact of discrimination towards immigrants. She wanted to give this community a space to heal through a creative outlet, which prompted her to start ARTogether.
“Folks can come together and do art activities, celebrate their culture, and basically be in a judgmental free environment, no matter what is their immigration status or how well they speak English, when they came to this country, what generation they are,” Zand explained. “The idea was how to use arts and culture for community building and connection between refugees, immigrants themselves and with the broader community.”
Located in downtown Oakland, the space is dedicated partly for galleries and art shows featuring local immigrant artists. The remaining area is a communal studio where ARTogether hosts its regular activities.
Art is used as a therapeutic medium that allows participants to process and express their emotions and experiences and build community with others in the studio, Zand said.
The programs are catered to youth and adults with programs called “Arts in Schools” and “Arts and Wellness.” Students are encouraged to participate in music, crafts, and dancing. In contrast, adults can join support groups to connect with others and receive mental health resources to alleviate trauma they may have previously experienced.
Zand told the Post that a lot of the issues participants come into the program with are related to feeling a lack of support or community after newly arriving to the area from their home countries. While many come from areas where traditional therapy is considered taboo, art lets people of all backgrounds express themselves in a creative form that makes sense to them.
The center can also provide referrals and direct contacts to traditional mental and physical health professionals and legal and social programs for those who need more extensive assistance.
Because of how the organization started, ARTogether has a strong “Stop the Hate” messaging built into its mission. They began promoting advocacy against anti-immigrant and anti-refugee hate across several demographics during the pandemic, even before “Stop the Hate” became officially established.
“We really want to activate this space for the community to get together, to share, to strategize, to see how they can advocate at the local, state and even national level for their rights,” Zand shared.
Anticipating an influx in stress and trauma for residents after the presidential inauguration in January, ARTogether is hosting a community gathering at the end of the month in order to give people the space to express their feelings through crafts.
These gatherings, or “Gather In’s”, will be held monthly, or for as long as funding can sustain them, which Zand said might not be for long.
The organization recently lost one of its grants from the city of Oakland during the major budget cuts earlier this month that slashed funding for arts and culture programs. They were meant to receive a $20,000 grant through the city’s initial contingency budget plan but the money is now gone until Oakland can get their revenue up again.
Zand shared she worries about the state of the country come the new year and where her organization may end up as well if budget restraints continue at the local and state level.
“We are really facing uncertainty. We don’t know what is happening…We don’t know how bad it’s going to be,” she said.
This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop theHate program. The program is supported by partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to https://www.cavshate.org/
Activism
‘Let’s Glow SF,’ ‘Paints’ Holiday-Themed Light Shows on Landmark Buildings in Downtown San Francisco
The ‘canvases’ for Let’s Glow SF, which began on Dec. 6 and continues through Dec. 13, include 101 California St., Annie Alley, the Crossings at East Cut, the Ferry Building, One Bush Plaza, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, Salesforce Tower, and the PG&E Substation.
![The clock tower of the Ferry Building lights up with digital art projection. Photo by Anka Lee.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/glow-up-featured-web.jpg)
By Anka Lee, Post Intern
San Francisco has outdone itself again with the return of Let’s Glow SF, an abstract digital art projected brilliantly on various landmark buildings downtown for the holiday season.
Produced by the partnership of Downtown SF Partnership and A3 Visual, SF Glow began in 2021 with the intent to bring life back to downtown after the COVID-19 outbreak left its streets desolate.
Accompanied by different genres of music, the largest holiday projection arts festival in the U.S. is described on its web site as “a stunning journey of light” and “a striking marriage of art and technology …that elevates the city’s art scene.”
The ‘canvases’ for Let’s Glow SF, which began on Dec. 6 and continues through Dec. 13, include 101 California St., Annie Alley, the Crossings at East Cut, the Ferry Building, One Bush Plaza, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, Salesforce Tower, and the PG&E Substation.
‘Painting’ the light installations onto buildings starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.
At the Ferry Building on Dec. 7, the animated light display was by featuring art by Spectre Lab, Maxin10sity, and Ryan Uzilevsky of Light Harvest Studio. Across from the Embarcadero, plastic chairs were put out for front-row seating to the upcoming projection.
Families dressed in matching sweaters chatted animatedly among themselves, couples cuddled up against the bitter wind, and the ringing of the trolley’s distant approach all served to brighten the street. Holiday-special drinks like hot chocolate and themed cocktails were sold and participating eateries like Avotoasty, Barcha Restaurant came together to bring to San Francisco America’s largest annual Christmas projection event.
The eight-day event will close on Dec. 13, with “Glow on Front: A Neon Block Party” from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 240 Front St.
Ervin, one of the Block by Block Downtown SF Partnership safety workers for the event, said he’s “looking at a record amount this year,” nearing around half a million attendees in total. But that evening, a lively community evolved from the original trickle of people waiting for the art show to start.
Vendors set up displays and sold jewelry, notebooks, and handmade hairbands. Seats filled up as the day’s light faded, the chill of the air increasing with the flow of people. The excitement among the crowd was palpable and contagious. It was a welcome feeling, electrifying the ever-growing holiday cheer.
Chatter quieted and adventurous music blasted from speakers that were behind the seating area. A projection by Spectre Lab shone directly at the Ferry Building, the abstract graphics of candlelight, lanterns, and disco balls ‘dancing’ to the beat of the music that transformed the clock tower into something alive. The illusory animation spun and stretched the tower with enthusiasm—this writer was in awe.
A newcomer to Let’s Glow SF thought it was really cool how it “utilizes space that we have and…adds something new…for us to enjoy.”
One family only learned about the lights show on their way home after arriving by ferry, and “[they’d] seen it on the billboard with all the artists…. It’s a very positive thing for San Francisco after everything that’s gone on [with COVID].”
Attend the Let’s Glow SF projection event today through Dec.13 for free, at any of their eight locations: 101 California St., Annie Alley, the Crossings at East Cut, the Ferry Building, One Bush Plaza, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, Salesforce Tower, and PG&E Substation. Food and drink are sold at different participating businesses respective to each projection location. For more information, visit downtownsf.org.
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