{"id":195267,"date":"2026-02-26T19:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/195267\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T19:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:49:08","slug":"oakland-celebrates-black-history-with-night-of-music-and-free-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/195267\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Celebrates Black History with Night of Music and Free Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hosted by Oakland City Council President Kevin Jenkins, along with fellow Councilmembers Carroll Fife, Ken Houston and Rowena Brown, Thursday night\u2019s event is meant to be a showcase of the depth and breadth of Black creativity in Oakland. Former America\u2019s Got Talent contestant Dee Dee Simon will perform, as will the MC and spoken word poet RyanNicole<\/a>. Dr. Chris Wachira of the Kenyan American winery Wachira Wines will be on hand to pour free tastes. And a Black Authors\u2019 Corner will feature Wanda Johnson<\/a>, Oscar Grant\u2019s mother, who wrote a memoir<\/a> about her son\u2019s heartbreaking death.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, featured chefs dishing out tastes will include Jones (of Calabash and Kingston 11), caterer Jusala<\/a>, Dottie Moore and the team from longtime barbecue staple Everett & Jones. Jones, for his part, will serve what has been his signature dish since his Kingston 11 days<\/a>: slow-roasted jerk chicken, served with a side of rice and peas and sweet plantains.<\/p>\n

All of the food will be free, passed out on a first come, first served basis. (Good reason, perhaps, to show up early.)<\/p>\n

\"PortraitCalabash chef-owner Nigel Jones says he\u2019s optimistic about the future of Oakland. (Courtesy of Nigel Jones)<\/p>\n

Jones notes that while it has been a challenging few years for all restaurants in Oakland, Black-owned food businesses have had a particularly difficult time. By and large, they\u2019re scrappy, independent operations, often without any financial cushion. And the COVID shutdowns were brutal for restaurants like Calabash that depend on downtown foot traffic.<\/p>\n

Despite the struggles, Jones says he\u2019s hopeful for the future of Oakland.<\/p>\n

\u201cOakland doesn\u2019t have tech. We don\u2019t have oil. We don\u2019t have any anchor stores to drive people downtown. But what we do have is culture,\u201d Jones says, noting how inspired he was by the thousands of people who came out to the Black Joy Parade<\/a> this past weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture that we have in Oakland \u2014 that\u2019s the thing that we need to invest in. That\u2019s what we need to support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s Black History Month centennial celebration<\/a> is on Feb. 26, 6\u20139 p.m., at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (10 10th St., Oakland). The event is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to attend in \u201cAfrican swag or business attire.\u201d<\/p>\n