Notes & Sketches

–On June 19th of every year, the African American writers, artists, and activists of the past drop in on the Black communities of the present to see how we’re using our freedom.

–They call this annual visit The Ancestors’ Juneteenth; and in 2021, they decided to visit the San Francisco Bay Area.

–Where will they go in 2022?

Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman picnicking together.
Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman enjoy a picnic on the banks of the Combahee River.
  • BB King and Notorious B.I.G. at Mel-O-Dee Cocktails in El Cerrito
    BB King and Biggie Smalls thrilled the crowd with their karaoke version of “Every Day I Have the Blues,” at Mel-O-Dee Cocktails in El Cerrito.
  • Rep. Shirley Chisolm and Sojourner Truth on Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley
    Abolitionist Sojourner Truth and Representative Shirley Chisholm dropped in at the Berkeley Office of the League of Women Voters.
  • Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Civil Rights leader Malcolm X marching for Black lives.
    Civil Rights leader Malcolm X and abolitionist Frederick Douglass rallied with local activists, on the steps of the Alameda County Courthouse.
  • Ma Rainey and Gwendolyn Brooks standing in front of a restaurant.
    Ma Rainey and Gwendolyn Brooks met for coffee and pie and shared stories about the pleasures and perils of Black women’s lives.
  • Drawing of artis Basquiat and guitarist Hendrix
    Basquiat and Hendrix sat at the top of Berkeley’s Grotto Rock Park and watched the sun set over the San Francisco Bay.
  • Rep. Shirley Chisholm and Sojourner Truth at the DAPL protests
    Rep. Shirley Chisholm and abolitionist Sojourner Truth joined the protests at the Dakota Access Pipeline.
  • Hattie McDaniel and Nell Carter beside the pool
    Hattie McDaniel and Nell Carter relaxed by the pool at the Claremont Hotel.