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Rightnowish Lifelong Oakland resident Pendarvis Harshaw takes listeners on a brief but memorable trip to a Bay Area artist's home turf, speaking to them about their passions and inspirations, and linking their work to larger societal issues.
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Lifelong Oakland resident Pendarvis Harshaw takes listeners on a brief but memorable trip to a Bay Area artist's home turf, speaking to them about their passions and inspirations, and linking their work to larger societal issues.

Most Recent Episodes

Mentoring Oakland's Youth and Keeping an Eye on OPD

Is police reform actually achievable? That's the question I'm most interested in asking Regina Jackson. Ms. Regina, as she's often called, has been the Executive Director of the East Oakland Youth Development Center since 1994. That's where she perfected her system of mentorship and community engagement. In 2017, Ms. Regina was elected to a four-year term as the Chair of the Oakland Police Commission-- an independent review board that works outside of OPD to oversee policies and practices within the department. Ms. Regina's goal is to bring her philosophies on mentorship and community development to the Oakland Police Commission, in the hopes that it will result in substantial reform to the Oakland Police Department-- which has been under a federal monitor since 2003. Ms. Regina is powerful and competent, but given all that I've experienced with police in America, especially over these past few weeks-- with footage of George Floyd's Death and the tale of Breonna Taylor's death, I've grown more pessimistic about the potential of "reforming" police departments in America, Oakland's included. But if anyone is going to make a dent in police reform, it's going to be someone like Ms. Regina.

The Fairy Glow Mother from East Palo Alto

Hadiyah Daché is an esthetician from East Palo Alto, who recently relocated her Fairy Glow Mother business to Oakland. Her skincare work covers everything finding remedies for acne to waxing intimate areas, and there's so much more to it. In this conversation, we touch on Hadiyah's roots in EPA, her entrepreneurial drive and why skincare is deeper than just applying sunblock-- which she suggests you do multiple times of day if you're outside in the summer months. Correction: Hadiyah's last name is Daché.

Getting Out of the Way for Your Creative Child

Sydney Nycole is a singer and songwriter from Berkeley who has been making music since she was a teen. And although her father (and manager) Gary Reeves has been in the industry since the 1980s, Sydney found this passion on her own. Once it was established that Sydney, a free spirit who has no problem speaking her mind, was on the path to becoming an artist, it was on Gary to make sure he did his best to be there to support her and to know when to step back and let Sydney do her own thing. In this conversation, Gary talks about how his experiences working with the likes of Michael Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Blair Underwood informed what it's like to be a father in the entertainment industry. Sydney also offers some insight into what her father has done to help her on her path.

Pulling Poetry Out of People

Poet Tiffany Banks is the host of Speak On It, a weekly poetry night that usually takes place at Liege Lounge in Old Oakland. But since California has been sheltering in place, the poetry night has taken to the digital realm-- and now the talented performers hop on a big Zoom call just about every Wednesday night to share their work. As the host of this event, it's on Tiffany to organize the video call, schedule performers, promote the event and, at times, influence bashful artists to share their hidden talents. In this episode of Rightnowish, Tiffany helps me to tap back into a passion I've had since a kid, writing poetry. And she even convinces me to perform.

Poet Porche Kelly Performs "Jokes"

Porsche Nicole Kelly is an Oakland based motivational speaker, poet and author of the book, 2 Kinds of Fire. For this week's episode of Rightnowish, I step back and let the wordsmith speak to us as only she can, through her poetic critique of race in society in the form of her poem, "Jokes." The poem grapples with cases of police brutality and white nationalist violence. Do what you need to take care of yourself. You can follow Porsche Nicole Kelly at "thepoetactivist" on Instagram.

It's Not Business as Usual

Over the past nine months, I've had the luxury of getting to know some of the most interesting artists and activists the Bay Area has to offer. As the host of the Rightnowish podcast, it's been my goal to give them a platform, while taking a step back. But this week, given all that has occurred in relation to police brutality and protests, I have something to say. Today's episode of Rightnowish is dedicated to the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and all of those who've lost their lives in the struggle to end police brutality and extra-judicial killings of African American people. I hope this piece creates critical thinking about the numerous ways in which this country shows its lack of value for the lives of African American people.

Community Service & Star Power with Jamal Trulove

For the past three months, San Francisco's Jamal Trulove has been working with UCSF's Science Policy Group in order to get masks, hand sanitizer and information to groups that have been most impacted by COVID-19. You might've heard a little bit about Trulove's story. He's an actor, who played the role of Kofi in the 2019 film, The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He's a rapper, under the stage name 10MilliMilli, he's dropped a handful of songs, and is working on more. And last year he was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement in a case with the SFPD, after being framed and falsely imprisoned for a 2007 murder; a case that led to him serving over six years behind bars. Since then, he's been vocal about that case and the prison system.

COVID Can't Stop Comedy in the Bay

Chris Riggins has performed on stages across the Bay Area and beyond. And as his career was in mid-stride — COVID-19 hit. Now Riggins is adjusting to a world where comedy performances, like many forms of art, are happening online.

Catching Babies with a Go-To Doula for Black Parents

Sumayyah Monét Franklin is a birth rights activist, doula and owner of Sumi's Touch. She gives advice to potential parents on conception, coaches new parents through postpartum and is with parents during the birthing process-- she's attended over 500 births and counting. As of late, caution around potentially being exposed to COVID-19 has made many people wary about even going to traditional healthcare facilities. Guidelines on how many people can be present for the birthing process have become strict, making more parents hesitant to go to a hospital. This might explain why Sumayyah says she's seeing an uptick in her business-- and she expects that trend to continue.

'Angel Parents' Karega and Felicia Bailey on Grief and Love

When Felicia Gangloff-Bailey and Karega Bailey's newborn daughter, Kamaiu, passed last year, the couple says they became "angel parents." It's a term that exemplifies their seemingly ever-present optimism and uplifting approach to dealing with grief. This mindset is something the duo brings to their professional life as well, working as educators and restorative justice practitioners. They're also musicians, making up half of the band, Sol Development, along with Brittany Tanner and Lauren Adams. Recently, the couple has worked to publish a book full of affirmations that can be used as a toolkit, of sorts, to give guidance to other people who are dealing with grief. The book is call Sol Affirmations. This week on Rightnowish, we're discussing the importance of understanding grief and how uplifting words help process the highs and lows that life can throw at you.

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