{"id":322162,"date":"2026-05-19T02:20:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T02:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/322162\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T02:20:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T02:20:55","slug":"a-jazz-festival-in-oakland-with-a-political-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/322162\/","title":{"rendered":"A jazz festival in Oakland with a political twist"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, when Oakland hip hop artists RyanNicole and NuDekades stepped to the stage in San Antonio Park to trade verses touching on gentrification and economic empowerment, they drew nods from the audience. The performers were put voice to themes at the heart of the Malcolm X JazzArts Festival, now in its 26th year, an event that has become one of the city\u2019s longest-running celebrations of music, culture \u2014 and political solidarity. All afternoon, music echoed across the park as families gathered beneath tents and lawn chairs, children danced near the stage while eating shaved ice, and elders greeted neighbors they had known for decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Organized by EastSide Arts Alliance<\/a>, the festival offered up a day of free outdoor live performances \u2014 the lineup featured the jazz singer Daria Nile, the West African dance company Diamano Coura, the Futurelics, and Samba Funk! \u2014 hip-hop battles, and Afro Puerto Rican dance, along with spoken word artists, graffiti exhibitions, wellness and youth activities, and information from dozens of community organizations. Long lines formed at local vendors like Jollof Kitchen, where attendees waited for plates of West African soul food between performances. <\/p>\n

\"\"Sara Borjas reads poetry during the Malcolm X JazzArts Festival, now in its 26th year, on May 16, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Roman Carrillo, right, performs with Cultura y Tradici\u00f3n during the Malcolm X JazzArts Festival at San Antonio Park. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

One of the festival\u2019s busiest areas was the Zumbi Court, where hip-hop dance battles drew lively crowds of spectators as young children and adults stepped into dance cyphers to compete. As participants found partners and took turns performing in front of a panel of judges, moments of nervousness quickly gave way to confidence and celebration. Audience members cheered loudly as dancers improvised routines, encouraging even some of the youngest festivalgoers to step into the circle.<\/p>\n

\"\"I.D., 23, left, and Jaryan Bague, 22, aka Jun, compete in a dance battle during the Malcolm X JazzArts Festival. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Dru\u2019Synncere, 13, know as \u201cDancing Diva,\u201d competes in the dance off. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

EastSide Arts Alliance, a collective of artists, cultural workers and community organizers, has long used art as a tool for civic engagement and social change in Oakland. In addition to the annual festival, the organization provides free youth art classes and cultural programming, creates public art projects, and organizes gallery exhibitions and community town halls focused on issues that impact East Oakland residents.<\/p>\n

The first Malcolm X Jazz Festival was held in 1999, and for Elena Serrano, one of the organization\u2019s co-founders, attending this year\u2019s event carried a deep sense of personal significance. After retiring in December, this was the first festival where she was no longer involved in organizing the event and could simply take it all in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little surreal,\u201d Serrano said. \u201cBut it feels really good that the next generation has stepped up and is doing it. I feel so comfortable and confident and amazed that I can just come and sit down and enjoy the festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u02bbJazz became the bridge\u02bb<\/p>\n

The annual festival was envisioned as more than a music event. In East Oakland\u2019s San Antonio district \u2014 where Southeast Asian, Mexican American, Chicano, Native American and African American communities have long lived side by side \u2014 organizers saw culture as a way to forge solidarity across communities often divided by language, economic class and displacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted a festival that could bring those communities together, and we decided jazz could be the common language,\u201d Serrano said. \u201cThere\u2019s Latin jazz, Asian jazz, hip-hop \u2014 jazz became the bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Anthony Johnson came out to San Antonio Park for the Malcolm X JazzArts Festival. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Ro, 36, and their dog and Ruby, 7, watch a live jazz performance during the festival. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"From left, Chaney Turner, Demetria Huntsman, and Bushmama Africa, watch performances at the festival. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Long time festival attendees Gustavo and Darcy Lopez watch live music under a canopy with their kids. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

The festival, she said, has drawn inspiration from Malcolm X\u2019s emphasis on international solidarity and coalition-building among marginalized communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis neighborhood has been severely disinvested, but it\u2019s super rich in culture,\u201d Serrano said. \u201cWe wanted to lift up that culture, bring people together, and build enough power to create change in our own neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of cultural interconnectedness was visible throughout the festival, where artists from across the African diaspora and beyond shared stages. For Roman Carriollo, an elder who performs with the local bomba group Cultura y Tradici\u00f3n, the festival\u2019s blending of jazz, Latin rhythms and community traditions reflected a deep historical connection stretching across continents and generations.<\/p>\n

He described Puerto Rican bomba, jazz, blues and Louisiana musical traditions as branches of the same lineage, each carrying traces of African heritage shaped by migration and survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we look back at history, we\u2019re connected by one source,\u201d Carriollo said. \u201cEverybody has their own traditions and folklore and the way they do things, but it\u2019s all connected together from our roots in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Oakland resident Lauryn Marshall, 28, paints a community mural with her partner at the Malcolm X JazzArts Festival at San Antonio Park on May 16, 2026. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

For many attendees, the festival also served as a rare community gathering space in a rapidly changing Oakland. Anthony Johnson, with the Black Cultural Zone, who works on the event staff, returned to the festival this year after tabling at the event last summer.<\/p>\n

For Johnson, the festival\u2019s importance extends far beyond music and cultural performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives the community a safe place to enjoy each other,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives people from different cultures the ability to express themselves, and it ties everyone together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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