Wanda's Picks

What do Black-eyed peas have to do with Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower? Much! Join Iya Wanda Ravernell this morning and she will share about this African Disapora staple at The 9th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, Sat. Sept. 14, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. @Marston Campbell Park, 17th and West Streets, Oakland CA, 94607.  Enjoy Jazz, Second line bands, Black entrepreneurs, soul food and a special pavilion for children at this free event.  Wanda Ravernell, Executive Director of Omnira Institute  After retiring from a 20-year career in print journalism, she embarked on creating programming that would lead to the creation of Omnira Institute in 2009. As its director, Ravernell has developed and implemented the program known as ‘Roots of Faith/Roots of Freedom,’ under the artistic direction of her husband, (Dennis) Tobaji Stewart. Held all over the S.F. Bay Area, the lecture demonstrations draw on the musical framework provided by African ritual bata drums, which is then applied to African American