Radical Voices, Radical Stories
It took a mix of shame, rage and courage for Seattle Times staff reporter Tyrone Beason and NPR Code Switch co-host Shereen Marisol Meraji to set out to rewire media. For Beason, this spark was seeing the park benches lining the mall in Washington, D.C....
Review: Humans vs. Robots
UC Santa Cruz graduate student Abel Cornejo brought one of the first ever sci-fi plays back to life this past weekend, with a modernized questioning of life itself with artificial intelligence. Known for welcoming “robot” into the English language and sparking science fiction on the...
Commodifying Kahlo
Interested in purchasing Frida Kahlo? For almost $30, you can, along with 18 other historical and contemporary “inspiring women” who have fit into Mattel’s latest “Role Models” Barbie line. Shortly after International Women’s Day on March 8, the multinational, $8.5 billion toy corporation released a...
‘A Raisin in the Sun’
The Play Lorraine Hansberry planted 1959’s social issues into her social drama “A Raisin in the Sun” and its groundbreaking universality enthralled Broadway, making her the first Black female playwright to do so. Almost 60 years later, the screenplay has been adapted into multiple films...
Multiverse of Body, Sound, Light
From “imagination” to “transformation” to “multiverse,” the theme of this year’s Random with a Purpose explores the ways different mediums of art can contribute to performance. UC Santa Cruz student directors Jacob Caldwell, Chloe Rosen and Alyssa Soderberg spent the next year bringing “multiverse” to...
Queerness, Latinidad and Joy
“I don’t think we allow ourselves to experience joy,” said queer Latinx writer Gabby Rivera. “A lot of our narratives are centered around oppression and the diaspora and the fact that we are here because of chattel slavery. So it is really important to highlight...
From School to Prison and Back
Edgar Fuentes* was 10 the first time he smoked meth, 12 the first time he went to juvenile hall, and 13 when he was sentenced to 27 months. His sentencing was a failure of the justice system to recognize his underlying struggle with mental health....
Unlocking Social Constructs
Two teenagers, one black, one white, reflect on their pasts from their prison cell — one shot his neighborhood bully and the other killed his friend by accident. Awaiting the sentences from a predictably biased justice system, the two piece together the shards of their...
Grammys: Still So White?
Last year’s Grammys left people so astounded that Adele’s “25” took album of the year over Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” even Adele cracked her Grammy in half. “Lemonade,” a 12-track reclamation about being a Black woman in the American South, became the third best-selling album worldwide in...
Bringing the Bay to Santa Cruz
Two mothers, a recent high school graduate and an ex-backup singer were among the five Bay Area performers that dropped their beats and lyrics one by one in the Catalyst Atrium Saturday night. From Youtube freestyle challenges to live performances across the nation, these artists...