Jeff Mackler, the Co-Director of the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal,
giving a speech on Mumia's behalf and against the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
The Mobilization was one of 50 non- profit organizations represented at the
free festival.
As the 2008 Power To The Peaceful festival got into full swing, excellent performances by the likes of Rebelution, one of the biggest new bands on the stateside reggae scene in 2008, and the articulately lamenting rap duo of Oakland pianist-vocalist Kev Choice and Richmond MC Silk-E, were juxtaposed on the main stage by an impassioned speech by Jeff Mackler, the Co-Director of the Oakland-based Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, to not just free Mumia, but also get the troops out of Iraq; the latter sentiment was echoed by underground San Francisco rapper Sellassie in an excellent bit of freestyle after Rebelution's set. Read more »
As the bus I took to the 10th annual Power To The Peaceful Festival rolled toward the western end of San Francisco's Haight Street (where it famously crosses Ashbury Street), the plain white stucco front of the apartment buildings on either sides of the street were transformed into three-dimensional facades coated in zebra stripes and rainbows. I stepped off the bus to grab a large latté, and some free wi-fi, in a coffee shop named Coffee To The People. As I sipped my cup and reviewed the acts for Michael Franti's impending celebration of pacificism to the extreme, I looked around the inside of the café and saw a collage of bumper stickers covering the walls, featuring quotes by everyone from Abbie Hoffman to Aung San Suu Kyi. Read more »
The 6th edition the Irie Jamboree Festival, considered to be the American Northeast equivalent of the likes of Reggae Rising or the Chicago Reggae Festival is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York City, New York, featuring top performers from around the Carribbean, with a particular emphasis on Jamaican performers and musics, specifically reggae and dancehall, from the country. Read more »
