Spring 2013
Art Exhibit
Dignidad Rebelde: Signs of Solidarity
Wednesday, April 10- Friday, June 14
A Conversation with the Artist/Opening Reception
Thursday, April 25, 6:30 pm
Exhibition/MCC Lounge
Oakland-based artists and activists Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantes boldly partner their social and creative work, spreading knowledge on the artform of silkscreen printing and fostering an awareness of social justice issues worldwide. Signs of Solidarity showcases a selection of portraits and posters that they have created to reflect political and cultural struggles and visions. A screen printing demonstration by Barraza will take place at the opening reception. Co-sponsored by the Art, Design, & Architecture Museum – UC Santa Barbara; Chicano Studies Institute; and the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies.
Cup of Culture
Lost in the Crowd
Wednesday, April 10, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Shot over eight years, this ground breaking documentary follows a group of homeless LGBT teens living in New York City. The film reveals the many trials in their fight to survive in a world that is hostile to their very existence, but also the dreams and desires that keep them going. Susi Graf, 72 min., English, 2010, USA. Co-sponsored by the Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity.
An Evening of Irish Poetry with Ethna McKiernan
Thursday, April 11, 6 pm
Poetry Reading/MCC Lounge
In honor of National Poetry Month, award-winning Irish-American poet Ethna McKiernan will not only share her poetry, but will focus on “the largest leap of imagination there is in poetry, writing from the perspective of the 'other'.” Author of three collections of poetry, her most recent work, Sky Thick With Fireflies (Salmon Poetry, 2011), was nominated for the Minnesota Book Award. She currently works as a housing advocate in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the long-term homeless. Co-sponsored by the College of Creative Studies and the Department of English.
Cup of Culture
United States of Africa: Beyond Hip-Hop
Wednesday, April 17, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
An insightful look at the power of music and the need for political engagement, this film follows African hip-hop pioneer Didier Awadi as he creates an album on revolutionary black leaders. His travels throughout Africa spark deeper reflection on the power of music and the potential for real political transformation. Yanick Létourneau, 86 min., French and English, 2012, Canada. Co-sponsored by the Art, Design, & Architecture Museum – UC Santa Barbara and the Education Abroad Program – UC Santa Barbara.
What is Fair Education?
Jeffrey Stewart
Thursday, April 18, 6 pm
Lecture/MCC Theater
Though the FAIR Education Act in California was passed in 2011, little progress has been made in including the histories of underrepresented communities in the K-12 curriculum, especially those of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and persons with disabilities. Jeffrey C. Stewart will discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by the FAIR Act and suggest it lays the groundwork for developing a new organon of K-12 and university education in California. Jeffrey C. Stewart is Chair and Professor in the Department of Black Studies at UCSB. For more information please contact the Black Studies Department.
An Evening of Filipino Music and Dance with Likha
Friday, April 19, 8 pm
Performance/MCC Theater
Comprised of 20 dancers and musicians, the Likha ensemble combines native Filipino culture with European influences seen throughout their performances from the Habaneras to the Rondalla string ensemble. Mesmerizing dances from various regions of the Philippines, such as tinikling, will be accompanied by a variety of traditional instruments including the agongs, kulintang gandingan, and the gabband. Tickets $5 UCSB students and children under 12/$15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064 or buy on-line at www.mcc.ucsb.edu (extra fees apply). Limited seating. Co-sponsored by After Dark and the Department of Music.
Youth Event
Tommy and the Hip-Hop Clowns
Saturday, April 20, 11 am
Dance Performance/MCC Theater
Tommy the Clown began dancing as a way to motivate and inspire youth to stay on a positive track. Now he and his dance crew, the Hip-Hop Clowns, tour the world exciting audiences with a high energy street dance known as krumping. Join us for this incredible and interactive dance performance. Great event for all ages! FREE! Co-sponsored by the Hemispheric South/s Research Initiative; Isla Vista/UCSB Liaison; and the UCSB Early Childhood Care & Education Services.
Dreaming of Freedom: Prisons, Politics, and Black Liberation
Theresa Shoatz and Quincy Saul
Monday, April 22, 6 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge
Theresa Shoatz and Quincy Saul discuss Maroon the Implacable by Russell Maroon Shoatz, former Black Panther and current political prisoner. This new collection of writings offers self-critical and fresh analyses on Black Liberation struggles, prisons, and theories and methods of organizing. Theresa Shoatz is a longtime community organizer and Russell Maroon Shoatz’s daughter. Quincy Saul is co-editor (with Fred Ho) of Maroon the Implacable. Co-sponsored by the Center for Black Studies Research; the Center for New Racial Studies; the Department of Asian American Studies; and the Department of Feminist Studies.
Diversity Dialogue
The Politics of Film Preservation: The Case of The Man and Other Hidden Cultural Legacies
Tuesday, April 23, 5 pm
Panel Discussion/ MCC Theater
Actor and activist Clayton LeBouef (Something the Lord Made, The Wire, and Homicide: Life on the Street) brings his Make the People Conscious (MTPC) campaign to UC Santa Barbara and raises this question. MTPC is a people’s film preservation movement concerned with the politics of film preservation and race. The lost 35mm print of The Man, a 1972 film about America’s first black president, informs a timely conversation between LeBouef, Professors Jeffrey Stewart (Black Studies) and Ross Melnick (Film and Media Studies), with University Librarian Denise Stephens. A Screening of The Man will be shown in the Pollock Theater Tuesday, April 23 at 1 pm. Co-sponsored by the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Academic Policy and the Office of Equal Opportunity & Sexual Harassment/Title IX Compliance.
Cup of Culture
Dakota 38
Wednesday, April 24, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Native spiritual leader Jim Miller and a group of riders retraced the 330-mile route on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site of 38 Dakota ancestors on the anniversary of their execution ordered by President Lincoln. This is the story of their journey- the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way as well as the dark history they wipe away. Smooth Feather Productions, 78 min., English, 2012, USA. Co-sponsored by the EOP- American Indian Cultural Resource Center.
An Evening of Gypsy Jazz
The Black Market Trust with Nick Coventry
Friday, April 26, 8 pm
Music Performance/MCC Theater
Characterized by a fusion of new school pop and old world Gypsy jazz, the members of the Black Market Trust and Nick Coventry are sure to get the crowd going with their swinging rhythms yet tender musicality. The group creates music inspired by Roma guitarist Django Reinhardt, Eddie Van Halen, the Beatles and more, with not much more than two guitars, a bass, and violin. They have performed worldwide including the renowned Django festival in Samois-ser Seine, France. Tickets $5 UCSB students and children under 12/$15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064 or buy on-line at www.mcc.ucsb.edu (extra fees apply). Limited seating. Co-sponsored by the Department of Music.
Race Matters Series
Beyond Race, Gender, and Class: Understanding the Roots of Privilege
Robert Jensen
Tuesday, April 30, 6 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge
Using the concept of privilege in race, gender, and class, this discussion will raise questions about systems and structures of power that can allow us to go beyond polite “diversity talk” to discuss what would be needed to transform our society and promote justice and sustainability. Any serious effort toward those goals must confront the structures of power in the contemporary United States that produce such profound inequality. Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Arguing for Our Lives: A User’s Guide to Constructive Dialogue (City Lights, 2013) and The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege (City Lights, 2005). Co-sponsored by the Department of History.
Fun at the MCC
English-Vinglish
Wednesday, May 1, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
This Bollywood story centers around a woman who, after constantly being the butt of her family’s jokes, is determined to master the English language as well as teach the world the way to becoming a confident woman. Hilarious, touching, and sensitive, this film marks the come back of India’s biggest female star Sridevi Kapoor. Chai and samosas in the lounge following the screening. Gauri Shinde, 134 min., English and Hindi with subtitles, 2012, India. Co-sponsored by the Education Abroad Program – UC Santa Barbara and Indus – South Asian Student Association.
MCC in I.V.
An Evening of Spoken Word Featuring Yosimar Reyes
Thursday, May 2, 7:30 pm
Open Mic/Crushcakes- 6533 Trigo Rd., Isla Vista
Nationally acclaimed spoken word poet Yosimar Reyes will join us for an evening of powerful and moving poetry based on issues facing queer immigrant youth. In addition to Yosimar’s performance, we will have Angel Martinez sharing his poetry. The event is not only a performance by Reyes and Martinez, but an open mic for anyone to artistically express themselves while educating others on current issues. Be prepared to come up on stage and share your talents in this safe space for a night of "edutainment." Co-sponsored by the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies and the Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity
One Drop of Love:
A Daughter's Search for Her Father's Racial Approval
Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni
Tuesday, May 7, 6 pm
Performance/MCC Theater
Incorporating filmed images, photographs and animation, this one-woman show tells the story of how the notion of ‘race’ came to be in the U.S., and its effects on the narrator’s relationship with her father – a journey that will take audiences from the 1600s to the present, to cities all over the U.S. and to West and East Africa, where both father and daughter spent time in search of their ‘racial’ roots. Special performance by Ryan Yamamoto. FREE! FREE!Co-sponsored by the Black Student Union and the Department of Sociology
Fun at the MCC
Osuofia in London
Wednesday, May 8, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Based in Nigeria and London, this Nollywood comedy stars African Movie Academy Award winner Nkem Owoh as Osuofia, a lazy deer hunter supported by his five daughters. Luck is on his side when he finds out an inheritance has been left for him by a deceased relative in London. See his adventures as the cultural differences for this villager unfold. Discussion with Dr. Jude Akudinobi following the screening. Kingsley Ogoro, 105 min., English, 2003, Nigeria. Co-sponsored by Education Abroad Program – UC Santa Barbara; the EOP – African diasporic Cultural Resource Center; and the Pan – African Student Union.
Race Matters Series
Why Won’t They Just Pull Their Pants Up?
People of Color and Colorblind Discourse
Felice Blake
Tuesday, May 14, 6 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge
Many discussions of colorblindness examine white people's investments in refusing to talk
explicitly about race, power, and privilege. Blake will address why colorblind ideals appeal to people of color in the post-Civil Rights era and enlists their support in disciplining behavior, pursuing individualism, and limiting aspirations. Felice Blake is Assistant Professor in UCSB’s Department of English. co-sponsored by the Black Student Union and the English Department.
Fun at the MCC
The Muslims are Coming!
Wednesday, May 15, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Using jokes as a way of combating Islamophobia, a group of Muslim-American stand-up comedians go on a comedy tour throughout the United States. The comedians use this tour as a chance to create dialogue, tackling stereotypes and other issues Muslim Americans face today. Discussion with Director/Comedian Negin Farsad following the screening. Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah, English, 2012, USA. Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies; the Department of Black Studies; the Department of Religious Studies; EOP – Middle Eastern Resource Center; Interdisciplinary Humanities Center; and the Muslim Student Association.
The UCSB MultiCultural Center in Santa Barbara
An Evening of Spoken Word with Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai
Thursday, May 16, 7:30 pm
Performance/ The Coffee Cat-1201 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara
UCSB’s MultiCultural Center is back at the Coffee Cat with Poet Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai. Join us as she takes us through a lyrical journey across America where race, class, culture, sexuality, and gender aren't neatly defined, where times of war coexist with times of peace, and where poetry still survives and thrives. Tsai has performed worldwide including the White House, Tyra Banks' Flawsome Ball Hosted by Drake, and three seasons of Russell Simmons HBO Def Poetry. Co-sponsored by the American Cultures & Global Contexts Center; the Department of Asian American Studies; the Department of Feminist Studies; and the Santa Barbara Arts Commission.
An Evening of Chinese Music with the Jumping Buddha Ensemble
Friday, May 17, 8 pm
Music Performance/MCC Theater
Named after a dish so delicious that even Buddha would break out of meditation for a taste, this ensemble’s performance is certain to be magnificent. These four musicians perform music ranging from traditional to contemporary using Chinese instruments such as the erhu and guqin to perform Chinese and Western music. Tickets $5 UCSB students and children under 12/$15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064 or buy on-line at www.mcc.ucsb.edu (extra fees apply). Limited seating. Co-sponsored by the Department of Music; the Education Abroad Program – UC Santa Barbara; and the National Science Foundation: Partnership in International Research and Education in Electron Chemistry and Catalysis at Interfaces (PIRECCI).
Race Matters Series
Black Star, Crescent Moon: Islam and Muslims in the Black Radical Imagination
Sohail Daulatzai
Tuesday, May 21, 6 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge
Despite the “post-racial” euphoria associated with the election of Barack Obama, the specter and threat of Muslims to the U.S. and the larger West persists. As this talk will reveal, there was a pre-history to 9/11 in which Blackness, Islam and the politics of the Muslim Third World found common cause. In resurrecting this past, we will explore the significance of this forgotten history for contemporary politics and arts when Black artists and activists imagined themselves not as national minorities but as part of a global majority. Sohail Daulatzai is Associate Professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies and the Program in African American Studies at UC Irvine as well as author of Black Star, Crescent Moon: The Muslim International and Black Freedom beyond America (2012). Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies, the Center for New Racial Studies, and the Department of Religious Studies.
Cup of Culture
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
Wednesday, May 22, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Revealing the direct connection between the history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and the current immigration crisis, this film based on Juan González’s book by the same title, provides a powerful glimpse into the sacrifices and triumphs of the growing Latino communities, putting a human face on issues that are often reduced to stereotyping. The film features immigrant stories as well as interviews with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchú, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Junot Díaz, and more. Peter Getzels and Eduardo Lopez, 90 min., English and Spanish with English subtitles, 2012.
Interfaith
Seekers without Borders: Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent
Rabbi Rami Shapiro
Tuesday, May 28, 6 pm
Lecture/MCC Theater
Five questions lay at the heart of the spiritual quest: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? How shall I live? and Why? Called the Perennial Wisdom, this understanding of life and how best to live it crosses religious borders and speaks directly to the emerging vanguard of spiritually independent seekers of truth. Rabbi Rami Shapiro will explore Perennial Wisdom through the five questions, and help us deepen our search for truth. Co-sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies and the Walter H. Capps Center.
Cup of Culture
Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden
Wednesday, May 29, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Posing a challenge to the assumption that the western model of education improves lives wherever it is, this controversial film gives insight to the effects of western education as a panacea for world issues. "With a rare, philosophical sense for the truth, the documentary reflects on the alienating impact of schooling not just on children but also on adults in indigenous contexts such as Ladakh." Dr. Nosheen Ali, UC Berkeley. Carol Black, 66 min., English, USA and India, 2010. Co-sponsored by the Education Abroad Program – UC Santa Barbara