By Godfrey Lee
“The Legacy of Marin City, A California Story, from 1942 to 1962” exhibit will be open at the Bartolini Gallery on Aug. 20.
The Gallery, located at the Marin Center at 10 Ave. of the Flags in San Rafael, will be open from Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The free exhibit will be on display until Nov. 1, 2022.
This interactive, historical, and immersive experience features memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who worked at the Marin shipyard. It explores the Black migration path, and how welding was important in shipbuilding.
The exhibit features contemporary original artwork by Chuck D of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy; clay sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Kaytea Petro; original pieces made by Marin City youth in collaboration with Lynn Sondag of Dominican University of California, and recorded music from Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.
Original, unpublished photos, and articles from the Felecia Gaston Collection, the Anne T. Kent Collection, and other collections about the Black experience of Marin City will be displayed, along with news clippings from the San Francisco Archives.
“The Legacy of Marin City, A Housing Story” exhibit will be on display on the first and third floors of the Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Dr., San Rafael, from Aug. 20 to Nov. 1. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
This multimedia presentation of newspaper articles and Marin City community artifacts that tells a narrative of housing discrimination, land grab, outside developers, and the continual fight for housing rights and equality in Marin City.
The exhibit will feature works from the Felecia Gaston Collection and the Daniel Ruark Collection and explores how Marin City residents have endured housing inequities over the years, the history of plans to remove Black people from the area during WWII, and the beautiful survival spirit of the people who stayed and made Marin City their home.
The play “Spirit of Joseph James,” will be performed at 2:00 p.m. on Aug. 28 at the Showcase Theater Plaza, Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flag, San Rafael. It was produced by Performing Stars of Marin and directed by Jahl of Microphone Mechanics and 393 Films.
Act I, which features Davon Smith of Marin City, begins with Joseph James singing Negro Spirituals for tuition in college, and traveling on tour to the Jim Crow South with Eva Jessye as the prelude to his move to California. The second act, which features Adimu Madyun from Oakland, focuses on the Marinship shipyard in Sausalito and James’ fight against discriminatory union practices with the help of civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall and 1,000 Black shipyard workers. Act III, which features Tami Bell from Marin City, gives in his own words from a video captured in his 70s, a retrospect, and a call to action to continue to work for freedom, justice, and equity.
Tickets for “Spirit of Joseph James,” are $20.00 and are available @ tickets.marincenter.org. Call the Marin Center Box Office at (415) 473-6800, or go to http://www.marincity80.com for more information.
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