Temescal Roots Project

In 2021, the Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District (TTBID) teamed up with the Huey P. Newton Foundation to win a grant from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. The purpose of the grant was to develop a concept for a public art installation honoring the history of the Black Panther Party in the neighborhood where it began. The importance of engaging the local community, artists, and stakeholders in this endeavor is paramount to it’s success.

The Temescal Roots Project will honor the rich history of the Black Panther Party’s beginning in/around Temescal through a public art installation in the heart of the district. This will be the first 3D public art piece to honor the legacy not of a single member, but rather the entire Black Panther Party as a whole.

ONUS MEDIA, my production company, was brought on to document the process for the search of the artist and the development of the installation. Deliverables included event recaps, event photography and a short documentary.

ClientMade in ColorYear2021Linktemescaldistrict.orgRoleProducer, Director of Photography

Temescal Roots Project: "The Panther Legacy: Honoring our Roots"

This event was organized by the TTBID, Made in Color, and the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation (DHPNF), and made possible by an Open Spaces grant from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

Conversation moderated by Dr. Xavier Buck, Executive Director of DHPNF. Panelists include Fredrika Newton, Katherine Campbell, Dana King, and Clark Bailey. Hosted at The Logan, 5110 Telegraph Avenue in Temescal on 10/16/22.

Temescal Roots Project: "Neighborhood History: Returning to our Soil"

The original Kasper’s Hot Dogs opened in Oakland in the early 1930s. Harry Yaglijian, longtime owner of Kasper’s, has had a long list of legendary regulars, ranging from Ron Dellums to members of the band, Metallica. Many of the founding members of the Black Panther Party were also regular customers, including co-founder Dr. Huey P. Newton, who was raised just blocks away.

The Kasper’s Hot Dog’s building – scheduled to reopen after being closed for nearly 20 years – will, once again, be a central location for the community to gather together.

Temescal Roots Project: "Collective Imagining: Planting New Seeds"

Whether it’s the newspaper illustrations of Joan Tarika Lewis, the downtown mural by Timothy B. Art, or the children’s art in the Joyce Gordon Gallery, we’ve all come to recognize the creative influence the Black Panther Party (BPP) has on the city of Oakland.

For this final talk of our Community Conversation series, we’ll bring together artists of various backgrounds to discuss the responsibility and magnitude of honoring such delicate history through installation and design We’ll discuss how to respect and correct history while adding our own strokes of genius to the conversation with the ultimate goal of receiving wildly creative ideas for the installation and design of a public art piece that honors the BPP in Temescal.

Pantherfest 2023 - Roll out of finalist art/concepts

After extensive feedback and edits, our finalists designed concepts to honor the Black Panther Party. The Temescal Roots Project team presented the artist’s concepts at the festival in celebration of Huey P. Newton Day held in downtown Oakland in October 2023. Festival attendees were effusive about how impressed they were with all three designs; when asked to vote many moaned: “do I have to pick just one?”

Credits

PRODUCTION COMPANY
ONUS MEDIA

PRODUCER
AMIR AZIZ

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
AMIR AZIZ

ADDITIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
THEO SCHEAR
TONY NELSON
DARIUS RILEY

EDITOR
THEO SCHEAR
AMELIA ALEMAYEHU

EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY
CARLA HERNÁNDEZ RAMÍREZ

SPECIAL THANKS TO HUEY P. NEWTON FOUNDATION, TEMESCAL BID AND MADE IN COLOR FOR TRUSTING ONUS MEDIA FOR THIS PROJECT

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