LucasFilm | Disney | KaBoom! - Building Playgrounds for The Children in SF!

What happens when Patricia Scott, Executive Director of
 Booker T. Washington Community Service Center  puts out a request in the San Francisco, CA, Community, to join forces to build a playground for under served children?  I give you one guess.

You guessed it - The Force shows up!

Yes, George Lucas' crew @ #LucasFilm arrives early in the morning, with tools in hand, they got busy with the community, sleeves pushed up, working shoulder to shoulder, to create a playground,
a safe haven for the community. A play space where a mother can take her children to play, and not be concerned with bullets flying over head as her children do what they do - play!
(Kaboom! There it is!)
After all, as children, isn't playtime one of their most important jobs /activities?

ABC7 News Crew, LucasFilm Crew, and volunteers
from the community -  all working to build
 Kaboom! Playground in San Francisco, CA
(photo by @MimiKwan #ABC7Now @ABC7)

BTWCSC builds a playground w/ LucasFilm, Disney, ABC7
for the children.

The children in the BTWSCS playground, built by
LucasFilm, Disney, ABC7, Kaboom!

Kaboom! came to the scene, ready to build a
playground for the children @ BTWCSC 

Disney, LucasFilm, ABC7, Kaboom! All to the rescue, building a playground
for the children in the Fillmore District, in San Francisco, CA

The BTWCSC Mission
"The BTWCSC mission is to support and maintain a healthy and vibrant community offering services and programs designed to reduce social, health, economic and education disparities that challenge the people we serve - primarily low income children and their families. " - BTWCSC
It was really nice meeting BOD member, Phillip Stone, Esq, Treasurer, who migrated to
San Francisco in 1948, during the "Great Black Migration" From the South.
I also met some wonderful people who pour their hearts into helping those without a voice, get a voice. Irene Dillard, was the first person that I met, when I arrived at Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, and she was lovely. I was introduced to BOD members, Andrea Patton-Housley, Secretary, LeKesha Howard, Traditional Aged Youth Specialist - Hats off to all of you at #BTWCSC for all that you do for the community. We see you!


Kaboom! Mission - Vision
"All kids get the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive."  Kaboom! Provides the necessary tools to create "play for kids everywhere...because play matters".
- Kaboom!

LucasFilm | Disney | ABC7 - Mission 
George Lucas, founder of the space opera franchise, Star Wars. Brilliant!
Walt Disney, A leader in the American animation industry, hands down, okay?

People in the San Francisco, CA got together for a common cause; the children in the community -  and let me tell you, the "Force" was with us! and it was a beautiful thing,

Yes, LucasFilm | Disney | @abc7 | KaBoom! ~ Stepped up to the helms and collaborated with the Booker T. Washington Community Center, and came up with a tight game plan! The Star Wars crew was in the house, and they got the job done! Thanks all you Stormtroopers!

In lieu of what's been happening in the news lately, with all of the natural disasters, #HurricaneHarvey and #HurricaneIrma -  please stay tuned to the Bay Area's on Super Hero, Meteorologist @MikeNicco7 @ABC7 for the latest weather. We've been having our own quiet storms in the Bay Area. Thundering and lightning, snap crackling and popping off the chain! But through it all, may we all stay prayerful, practice kindness, and keep in mind that working together to get through the storms, is what it's all about.

May the Force be with you!

Smooches,
Carla

The Flip Side of 2016 - WE Love You Natalie Cole!

We are so blessed to be alive, making it to another year. Keep in mind that there are so many people that didn't make it into 2016. I remember my Grandfather, Stokes, saying, "No one is promised tomorrow."

Life is a gift - act like it is. You've got a new start, with a new year.

I want to take a moment to say that Natalie Cole, a Native Californian, born and raised in Beverly Hills.  Natalie Cole just recently passed away 12.31.15. My heart goes out to the Cole Family.
Natalie Cole and I laughed, cried and prayed together. May you R.I.P. Natalie.



I am grateful to Jah for making it to 2016, and will continue to show my appreciation by treating people with loving kindness. Happy New Year to you!

With so much love & light,
Carla

It's Friday! Let's Do This!

It's Friday, and time to shift gears and get on over to where ever it is you like to spend your T.G.I.F., okay?
I would recommend that you stop on over to the Montage Hotel and grab a spot at
Chef Scott Conant's place - SCARPETTA. Chef Scott Conant is holding it down on the East Coast
and the West Coast - Okay?! The atmosphere is lovely, the food is delicious!

Montage Beverly Hills, the perfect spot!

The Man - Chef Scott Conant, Owner of
Scarpetta BH, Scarpetta NYC, Scarpetta Toronto,
D.O.C.G. Enotecca at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV,
SCCulinary Suite  = Holding it down!

Love & light,
Carla

Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts Adds New Board Members

The Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts
The Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts has just appointed five new Board Members - YES!
Please join me in welcoming the FAB Debbie Allen, Jacqueline Avant, Carol Goldsmith,
Cinny Kennard, and Jamie McCourt.
Welcome, Ladies!

Debbie Allen, Board Member,
Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts

Jamie McCourt, Board Member,
Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts

Clarence Avant and wife, Jacqueline Avant, Board Member, Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts 

Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts is located in the heart of Beverly Hills- 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90210 | 310.746.4000

On Twitter: @TheWallisBH | Facebook: Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts
#TeamBH #TheWallisBH

"Four Corners" - Featured @ The Pan African Film Festival LA - It's a Wrap! 2015

Shot on location in South Africa in the Cape Flats, Four Corners is a film based on actual experiences of the residents. The film is fast paced depiction of young people fighting a war that is over 100 years old.
"Cape Flats is the most violent neighborhood in South Africa and one of the most violent neighborhoods in the world," says the film's director, Ian Gabriel.

"Four Corners", Directed by Ian Gabriel. A South African Film that mirrors the
lives of many of our youths in America

 

Farrakhan (Brendon Daniels), a general in the 28 gang in Four Corners prison has just been released from prison after 13 years. He wants out of the gang life and his only goals besides wanting to live as a law abiding citizen are to avenge his father's murder by a leading member of the rival 26 gang and to find his son, who was born 13 years ago while he was in prison. In the beginning of the film, we meet Ricardo(Jezzriel Skei), Farrakhan's 13-year-old-son, who is being interrogated by the police for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is something different about Ricardo and the detective knows this and sets him free. Ricardo is a chess prodigy and wants to leave the juvenile section of the prison in time to make it to chess practice after school.  The game of Chess is Ricardo's only oxygen and he plays like his life depends on it. Though Farrakhan and Ricardo's paths won't actually cross until later on in the film, the audience gets enough clues throughout the film to figure out that Ricardo is the son that Farrakhan is looking for.

Ricardo's life spirals out of control as he is pulled into the 26 gang in
Cape Flats and is forced into robberies, gambling and a gut wrenching shootout. It's hard to imagine that Ricardo had many other choices  in this community. Poverty and destitution are continuous and ubiquitous in this dismally violent community. Like Ricardo, the vast majority of the youth live in fatherless homes. The fathers are not in the homes because they are in the prisons; a depressing mirror image of the reality for many black and brown children in the United States. 

Farrakhan is passionate about living on the right side of the law, but he is in the wrong side of town. He is a former member of the 28 gang living in 26  gang's territory.  These 2 gangs have been at war for the past 100 years in Cape Town. There is no welcome wagon when he arrives  in Cape Flats and no promise of peace from the members of the 26 gang. Farrakhan makes a promise to himself and his new love interest that the path to his future will be guided by peace. However, the sadism that he attracts prohibits him from excluding bloody options.   

These stories are centered around the mixed race people of the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa. Even though South Africa saw the end of apartheid over 2 decades ago, the Cape Flats remains segregated and comprised of mixed race residents. These are the people that played the extras and even some of the main characters in Four Corners. Shooting on location gave Gabriel the opportunity to provide desperately needed jobs and revenue to the Cape Flats. The residents provided the vast array of services necessary for film production from craft and catering to security (courtesy of the Cape Flat gang members).

The Cape Flat residents welcomed the idea of shooting the film,
Four Corners in their community. They were enthusiastic to have their stories told. They are the forgotten people of South Africa. They were not white enough to benefit from apartheid and they are not black enough to benefit from the notoriety and gains made by some South Africa's black people after apartheid. The mixed race people of the Cape Flats wanted to be seen and heard. Their stories resonate with Ian Gabriel, who is also a mixed race South African.

Gabriel said that he got the idea for the film on a trip to the United States. He had a conversation with a Baltimore social worker who told him about the legacy of families that had generations of sons and fathers going to prison. This revolving door is detrimental on the entire family and the community. This resonated with Gabriel and he wanted to do a film which spoke the harsh truths of the people of South Africa's Cape Flats. In the film, "Four Corners", a senior prison general tells Farrakhan that there is no need to go out into the world to look for his son because just as he (Farrakhan) had to end up in prison to find his father, Farrakhan's son will surely end up in prison and find him; A generational curse.

As for the prison scenes, Gabriel says that this was the easiest shooting day he's ever had. The prisoners in the film were all ex-convicts. There is a prison riot that takes place immediately after the brutal shanking of a prison general in the beginning of the film. Gabriel says that the only direction he gave the main actors and the extras was to conduct a prison riot and everyone knew just what to do. Prison riots were nothing new to this bunch so they needed very little direction to pull off this brilliant scene! Gabriel used actual prison generals to play the parts of the prison generals in the film. The history of prison generals in Cape Town's prisons is long and prevailing. Gabriel says that the prison officials run the prison for 8 hours a day while the prison generals of the 26 and 28 numbers gangs runs the prison for 16 hours a day. They were able to acquire gains for the prisoners in civil rights, better lockdown times, increased hours for exercising and better working conditions. The prison generals in the Four Corners prison are highly respected and regarded. There are definitely some obvious pros to having the prison generals wield so much power. However, Gabriel gives us a front row seat to some of the deadly outcomes of the prison generals' reign.

Chess is a constant thread in Four Corners. Ricardo, the 13 year old character, makes moves in his life according to the rules of Chess. He compares each person in his life to pieces on the chess board and deals with them accordingly. There is a striking difference to Ricardo's life when he is in his realm as a Chess champion and when he is out in the streets,
making every move possible to avoid becoming a mere pawn in this game of life and death. Gabriel explains that he uses Chess to such a large extent in the film because Chess has becoming a prevalent element of reform in The Cape Flats. Along with competitive Pantsulu youth dance groups, Youth Chess Teams are now formed in The Cape Flats to give the youth an alternative to gang affiliations.

Director of "Four Corners",
Ian Gabriel

Four Corners is a brilliant film about a forgotten people. In  the film, "Four Corners", the mixed race people of the Cape Flats live loud and in bodacious color! Gabriel's love and knowledge of the film's subject matter is extensive and impressive. He tells a story of a very particular group of people in a very particular place. However, Gabriel is never unaware that this story is universal and as true for the youth in the favelas of Rio to the youth in the South Side of Chicago. In my opinion the only thing that can make this film better is a companion documentary which gives the viewers some background on the Cape Flats, the numbers gangs in the Four Corners prison and the political and historical background of the mixed race people in South Africa.

There is so much more to learn about South Africa and Gabriel's film has rightfully claimed its place on South Africa's timeline by giving us an in-depth look at part of this country that we know far too little about.
Yougnesse Williams
Editor-At-Large
Photography by Yougnesse Williams
#PAFF2015 #FourCornerstheFILM

Vigilante... The Crossing - PAFF.ORG 2015

The Cast of  the film, Vigilante...The Crossing..Step By Step Productions, Producer, Dave Weekes,
 Marcia Weekes, Director
(Photography by Yougnesse Williams)

Writer, Producer Dave Weekes, Director, Marcia Weekes
Vigilante...The Crossing

Barbados has arrived! Writer and Producer, Dave Weekes, director Marcia Weekes has propelled Bajan film-making in a tremendous way. Her fifth film Vigilante... The Crossing is a modern day tale of Robin Hood meets City of God!

The film chronicles the struggles of ex-con Dexter Gooding who makes a radical change from egocentric violent criminal to an island version of Shaft in order to help his community which is now plagued with nightly shootings, robbery, sexual assault, police brutality and political corruption. Yes... we have seen all of these things before in Caribbean films. However, the exhibition of racism and prejudice by a wealthy Caucasian family towards members of Dexter's community is something brand new for the audience to ponder. The film also does not shy away from taboo... rich white privileged girl meets handsome, big, black, gun-toting gangster and causes rich white family sleepless nights.

In addition to the wonderful acting from a very talented cast, I found it delightful to see Caucasian actors speaking with authentic Bajan accents. These accents were not acquired with the assistance of a dialect coach; the actors are official Bajans. Weekes delves into a topic that is not discussed or acknowledged in the Caribbean to the extent that it is in the United States. Weekes manifests room for much needed dialogue about race and class issues in the Caribbean, which ultimately are as destructive there as it is in the United States.

What I enjoyed most about the film was watching Dexter, a young man who enjoyed reigning terror in his community in the past  redeem himself by now picking up arms and putting his life on the line to defend this same community against the new ruthless crime boss and his henchmen. And though I would have loved to see some scenes in the film where the white sand beaches and pristine turquoise waters were featured, I respect Weekes' decision to have the audience view Barbados and the Caribbean in general as more than just a great spot to vacation, work on a fabulous tan and limbo on the dance floor of a swanky Americanized resort.

 In Vigilante...The Crossing, the people of the Caribbean were real characters with complex personalities, complicated relationships and souls. Weekes' film fills a void in an industry where many mainstream films shot in the Caribbean tend to feature Caucasian characters only and the people of the islands are just waiters, maids, valets, pretty ornaments wearing bikinis on the beach or simply invisible. Vigilante...The Crossing is adamant in giving the people of the island strength and a prominent voice!

The film was shot on location in Barbados in 26 days. The Bajan Board of Tourism was a strong supporter of the production. 13 members of the cast flew all the way from Barbados to Los Angeles for the world premiere of the film Vigilante and adorned the red carpet with Bajan style and wonderful accents. As a fellow Caribbean myself, I am proud to say, "Allyuh, Vigilante is de rell ting, man. Gwon see de movie at de Pan African Film Festival before it dun. If yuh doh see it, yuh go be rell sorry!"

Yougnesse Williams
Editor-At-Large

Photography by Yougnesse Williams

#Paff2015  @PAFFNOW    @Carla_Patra

Pan African Film Festival 2015: The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

The Stars Show Up to Support Praiseworthy Documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Loretta Divine 

Richard Gant  

The red carpet was on fire at the opening night screening and VIP reception for the 2015 
Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles California. 

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution made it's Los Angeles debut one week after making its mark at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Written and directed by accomplished filmmaker Stanley Nelson, the Black Panther documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party from 1967 to 1973. The film dedicates the entire 116 minutes to exploring the motivations that triggered the rise of this urban based revolutionary youth movement and also exhibits FBI files which documents J. Edgar Hoover's tactics in using Cointelpro (Counter Intelligence Program) to decimate the Black Panther Party and its accomplishments. The film features well known Black Panthers such as Huey Newton, Kathleen Cleaver, Eldridge Cleaver, Michael McCarty and Bobby Seale. 

Serayah McNeil (Empire)

Actors Isaiah Washington, Jimmy Jean-Louis,
Richard Gant, actresses Loretta Divine and

Jimmy Jean-Louis  

Serayah McNeil (Empire) Councilmember Curren Price were just of a few well known faces to flatter the runway of the very well attended opening night events and film screening for the 2015 Pan African Film Festival.

Isaiah Washington 

After the first theater was filled to capacity, another theater was utilized to handle the overflow. The overflow theater quickly filled up as well with an audience eager to absorb information about this riveting documentary and its game-changing subjects.

Serayah McNeil (Empire) 

The Pan African Film Festival which is now celebrating its 23rd anniversary will run from February 5th thru the 8th at the CineMark's Rave Cinema at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles, California. 

Yougnesse Williams
Editor-At-Large

(Photography - Richard Gant, Loretta Divine, Serayah McNeil, Isaiah Washington on the
Red Carpet, by Yougnesse Williams -  JimmyJean Louis' photo is from his official website)

Dick Gregory - A Man of All Seasons, Receives a Star on #HollywoodWalkofFame

Dick Gregory received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb 2, 2015! It was so exciting! 
I got a message from my girl, Caroline Hodges (She looks just like Oprah!) "Carla, are you going to attend the #HollywoodWalkofFame tomorrow?
They are honoring #DickGregory! and I can't be there - can you go?!" I said,
" I wish I could! I'm in San Francisco, working on a project - awww, snap!

Dick Gregory receives a STAR on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 

Dick Gregory? Our Sage? - How awesome!
He has kept so many people grounded over the years.
At the same time, he taught people how to treat us. All with humor."

Happy 56th Anniversary, Mr. & Mrs. Dick Gregory! That's the kind of commitment I'm talking about! It reminds me of a definition of LOVE
 "Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
 bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
(1 Cornth 13:7)

Mr. & Mrs. Dick Gregory celebrate 56 years of marriage. 

Michael Colyar, Honoree, Dick Gregory and
Dr. Michael B. Beckwith 

Let's celebrate! The  Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and
#TheHolywoodWalkofFame honored Dick Gregory - a man that truly is 100%  for real.

#StevieWonder honors #DickGregory
w/ Dominique diPrima #KJLHRADIO

Civil Rights Legends - Celebrated by Oprah.

Thank you, Greg Johnson, Dominique DiPrima, and the staff at KJLH Radio, for all that you do in the community!
@IAmDickGregory  @looklikeoprah2 @MichaelColyar  @drmichaelbb @Oprah @diprimaradio

Unbroken - Louis Zamperini's Testimony

"The hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is
self-destructive. If you're hate somebody, you are really hurting and hating yourself." Louis Zamperini

We all must face our fears in life. It's how you handle them that makes all the difference in the world (your world - your life.) Word?

First of all, I was in the OC(Orange County), spending time with the McDevitt Family, and got a chance to borrow/read the book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010)
The non-fiction war/drama book, is written by Laura Hillenbrand, a Best Selling Biography.
I loved the book. I laughed, cried and felt Louis Zamperini's pain. Life is a son of a gun (a trip!)
.Mr. Zamperini's life is a testimony to that fact...All we need to do is keep on giving thanks to the Great I AM, and remember not to give up - no matter what. Yes, keep it moving...

The non-fiction film is Produced and Directed by Angelina Jolie. The film opens Dec 25, 2014 - It is a MUST SEE!
BRAVO Hillenbrand & Jolie! GO ON! 

#WomenWorkingIt
#IAmUnBroken
#LouisZamperini
#McDevittFamilyROCKS
#TeamBH

Love & light,

Carla

Dr. Maya Angelou - "A Song Flung Up to Heaven"

Guy B. Johnson & his Mom, Dr. Maya Angelou

"Perhaps it is just as well that you do not write an autobiography.
To write memoir as literature is almost impossible." James Baldwin Those were the very words that motivated Dr. Maya Angelou to write,
"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings".

Marguerite Johnson - Maya Angelou burst upon the American scene, April 4, 1928.  Mother, Author, Poet, Dancer, Film Producer, Tony Award winner and Grammy Winner. She did it all before laying down with our ancestors on May 28, 2014.

Dr. Maya Angelou =
Strength, Courage, Wisdom

Dr. Maya Angelou attended my Alma mater,
George Washington Sr. High in San Francisco, CA

I love this photo of Dr. Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King +NASDAQ 

Dr. Maya Angelou's Autobiography
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

"When people tell you who they are, believe them." Dr. Maya Angelou

Dr. Maya Angelou

These are MUST READS written by
 Dr. Maya Angelou -
"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings",
"A Song Flung Up to Heaven"
"The Heart of a Woman"
Video -
"Blacks Blues Black" (A Series of 10 -1 hour programs on the impact of the various African Cultures on arts/music/life -  episodes written and produced by
Dr. Maya Angelou on KQED, 1968)

When I read the book, "A Song Flung Up to Heaven", it took me places I'd never been before. As with all of Dr. Maya Angelou's works, I've learned and grown so much.

Thank you, Dr. Maya Angelou for all of the words of wisdom that you've shared with me as a teenager in San Francisco, CA at the beautiful Herbst Theatre. I really appreciate you sharing your brother, Bailey, and son, Guy B. Johnson's life with me, allowing me to ask how they were doing and knowing that I was sincere.
Those two men were so real to me - and I was only 16!
Thank you for being a light, shining so bright in this world. Words can be so healing....R.I.P. Dr. Maya Angelou . My condolences to Guy B. Johnson.
Love & light,
Carla