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The Do List

A Celebration of Oakland's Black Cultural Figures, in Portraiture

Pendarvis Harshaw
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Shomari Smith and Viviana Rodriguez-Smith at the opening reception for Oakland's Black Modern Arts Renaissance.
Shomari Smith and Viviana Rodriguez-Smith at the opening reception for Oakland's Black Modern Arts Renaissance. (Pendarvis Harshaw)

Inside a lobby off Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in Oakland is a series of illustrations of educators and MCs, as well as photographers, poets and Black Panther Party members.

The portraits — all comprised of black jigsaw-puzzle-like images on top of yellow backgrounds with a vertical red line through the face — are a part of the Oakland’s Black Modern Arts Renaissance exhibition by Shomari Smith.

Famed visual artist and Black Panther Party Newspaper illustrator Emory Douglas takes in Shomari Smith's Oakland's Black Modern Arts Renaissance exhibit.
Famed visual artist and Black Panther Party newspaper illustrator Emory Douglas takes in Shomari Smith’s ‘Oakland’s Black Modern Arts Renaissance’ exhibit. (Pendarvis Harshaw)

“These are all of my people,” said Smith, a visual artist and documentary filmmaker, at an opening reception with guests, portrait subjects and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. “These are people who taught me, people I’ve worked with, people I admire and people I’ve been inspired by.”

The images include portraits of Joan Tarika Lewis, the first woman to join the Black Panther Party, as well as Theo Aytchan Williams of SambaFunk!, OUSD educator Jasmene Miranda and jazz radio show host Greg Bridges, to name a few. (Full disclosure: there’s even a portrait of me.)

An illustration of a man with a healthy beard and big smile, with a yellow background and a thick red line running vertically over the face
A portrait of long-running jazz DJ Greg Bridges is one of many featured in ‘Oakland’s Black Modern Arts Renaissance,’ on view near Oakland City Hall. (Shomari Smith)

As the wall text explains, the yellow backgrounds of Smith’s portraits represent creativity, while the red line represents a shared African bloodline.

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“Look these people up and find out more about their work,” encouraged Smith, while explaining that creating these images is his way of giving a little love back to the community — and making sure others recognize their work as well.

Artists, educators and more gather to celebrate the opening reception of Shomari Smith's Oakland's Black Modern Arts Renaissance exhibit.
Artists, educators and more gather to celebrate the opening reception of Shomari Smith’s ‘Oakland’s Black Modern Arts Renaissance’ exhibit. (Amir Aziz)

‘Oakland’s Black Modern Arts Renaissance’ is free and open to the public during business hours, through the month of March, at the City of Oakland building at 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland. Details here.

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