Equipto to Headline an SF Fundraiser for Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

Mike Evans Jr. — a local comedian, actor and member of the San Francisco artist collective Family Not A Group — was first introduced to Palestinian culture as an 11-year-old growing up in Vallejo. His neighbors, a Palestinian American family, would often invite him over to parties, and that’s where he began to appreciate their traditions and history.

For many Bay Area youth, that kind of exposure to diverse experiences can instill a certain openness towards others in the world: a sense of interconnected struggle which, as Evans Jr. puts it, often results in a “we’re not all free until we’re all free” ethos.

With a reported death toll of over 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Evans Jr. — along with many other Bay Area artists, activists and students — has found ways to continue his advocacy.

On Sunday, July 28, he will be hosting a group of local rappers, DJs, comedians, poets and community members for a Free Palestine Fundraiser at Hey Neighbor Cafe in San Francisco. All proceeds from the event will go directly to Human Concern International, which provides food, resources, aid and education to families in Gaza. Performances will include poetry from Sarah O’ Neal and music by Afterthought, Frisco Baby, Palestinian American MC Ishaq and DJs Jenset and Baghead.

Perhaps most notably, Equipto will headline the grassroots event. The Japanese Colombian San Francisco lyricist is known for his political activism: In 2016, he was as a member of the Frisco 5, which organized a 17-day hunger strike to protest the police killings of Alex Nieto, Mario Woods and other community members.

Equipto’s legacy in Bay Area music and activism runs deep. Evans Jr. credits the veteran MC with supporting him early in his comedic career, dating back to 2015. Like Equipto, Evans Jr. — whose political consciousness expanded at San Francisco State University — is cognizant of how art and media should offer more than simply entertainment. It should be impactful, and it should provoke discourse.

“Until there’s not a genocide going on, people need to see it and hear about it. Business as usual is dangerous,” says Evans Jr.

Evans Jr. isn’t going at it alone. Last November, after releasing the web series and album Rent Check, Evans Jr. was approached by Maya Y, an old friend from San Francisco whose family is from Lebanon near the Gaza border, to co-facilitate the artist-centered fundraiser for Palestinians. Evans Jr., who grew up in both Vallejo and SF, enthusiastically agreed and tapped into the vast panoply of artists and activists he has cultivated over a lifetime.

In true Bay Area fashion, the artists are all donating their time, and Hey Neighbor Cafe is donating its space. “The artist community in the Bay Area throws down for Palestine,” Evans Jr. says. “Richmond was the first city [in the country] to pass a resolution on the side of Palestine. I know a lot of Oakland people who are down, too. The Bay is a small pocket, but we’re very strong in the fight.”

The Free Palestine Fundraiser will take place July 28, 5–9 p.m., at Hey Neighbor Cafe (2 Burrows St., San Francisco). Tickets available here.