Events By Quarter

Dr. Barbara Berney

Cup of Culture

Power to Heal Medicare and the Civil Revolution

Producer, Barbara Berney, PhD, MPH

MCC Theater

POWER TO HEAL tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country practically overnight.

Before Medicare, disparities in access to hospital care were dramatic. Less than half the nation's hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South, 1/3 of hospitals would not admit African-Americans even for emergencies.

Using the carrot of Medicare dollars, the federal government virtually ended the practice of racially segregating patients, doctors, medical staffs, blood supplies and linens. POWER TO HEAL illustrates how Movement leaders and grass-roots volunteers pressed and worked with the federal government to achieve justice and fairness for African-Americans.

Bio: Dr. Barbara Berney is a distinguished scholar in public health, environmental justice, and the U.S. health care system. Dr. Berney is an Emeritus Associate Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Management. She was inspired to produce Power to Heal by hearing eyewitness accounts from physicians, nurses and government staffers involved in the effort to desegregate hospitals and those who struggled to provide health services in rural areas lacking the most basic medical care. 

She taught health policy analysis, the US healthcare system, and documentary production for public health practitioners at CUNY.  Prior to teaching at CUNY, she did advocacy and community and worker education on environmental and occupational health and HIV/AIDS. She got her MPH in health administration from UCLA. She has a PhD is public policy from Boston University.  She earned a BA in political science from Reed College.

Nina G. and Mean Dave

Performance

Comedians with Disabilities Act

Nina G. and Mean Dave

Hybrid: MCC Theater and Zoom

Join us for an evening of laughter and learning at the MCC Theatre! This comedy act by Nina G and their co-comedian Mean Dave takes an intersectional approach in talking about issues that people with non-apparent disabilities encounter, and what it means to be an ally to one another. Their focus is on being open, getting needed support and moving toward Disability pride and goals. The A.S. Commission on Disability Equality will facilitate a Q&A following the performance.

Comedian bios:  

Nina G is a stand-up comedian, author, and disability advocate. She performs and gives keynote speeches at colleges, companies, and conferences across the world. Nina is the author of Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen and the children’s book Once Upon an Accommodation: A Book About Learning Disabilities. She is a Bay Area native (Alameda) spanning five generations and currently resides in Oakland. Additionally, she has contributed to books, blogs, and articles and is a favorite among podcasters and comedy audiences all over. www.NinaGcomedian.com
 
Mean Dave is a Californian comedian from the Bay Area with a rock and roll style for any occasion or function. With a wild, intelligent approach to material about modern day life, Mean Dave has performed regularly at San Jose Improv, San Francisco Punchline, LA Comedy Store, Tommy T's in Pleasanton, and all kinds of shows and events all over.  Dave has opened for other notable comedians, like Josh Blue, Big Jay Oakerson, and Jay Mohr, and has performed at colleges across the US. Mean Dave’s role in the Comedians with Disabilities Act helps to bring his critical message about addiction and disabilities to audiences around the world.

CoSponsors: A.S. Commission on Disability Equality and Disabled Students Program

Accommodations: In-Person and Hybrid/Zoom ASL Interpretation and Live Captions. 
For additional accommodations please visit the MCC office or contact Jesse Avila at 805.893.8411 or jesseavila@ucsb.edu.

photo by Jesse Perez

The Undocumented Lawyer

Cup of Culture

The Undocumented Lawyer

MCC Theater

Immigrant Resilient Week

This short documentary follows Lizbeth Mateo, an attorney in Los Angeles—one who started a law practice, hired four employees, and took an oath to uphold the U.S. constitution. She also has no legal options to stay in the country. Lizbeth is undocumented.

Since crossing the border at age 14, Lizbeth hasn’t let her immigration status hold her back. Frustrated by an unjust system, she’s drawing from her own experiences to fight for immigrant rights in the streets and in the courts. 

Her latest client is Edith Espinal, a woman avoiding deportation by taking sanctuary in a church. As the months turn to years, Lizbeth is running out of legal options to help. Lizbeth returns to her activist roots and teaches Edith to fight back—because sometimes you need to ignore the law in order to change it.

Co-Sponsor: Undocumented Student Services

Miles Love Will Heal Us

Art Exhibition

Closing Art Reception: Love Will Heal Us

Miles Regis

MCC Lounge & Gallery

CLOSING ART RECEPTION: THURSDAY, APRIL 14

Artist Miles Regis’ profound messages of love and unity provide inspiration in all aspects of life. Regis’ work seduces his audience to look deeper where one uncovers undoubtedly poignant messages in every piece. The simplicity of black and white structure, starkly juxtaposed with the complex dimensions of color, seamlessly reflect our struggle, strength and triumph. His art is a reflection of our truth.

ARTIST BIO: 

Based in Los Angeles, Miles Regis is a Trinidadian-born artist whose work taps into the emotion and experiences of exotic cultures around the world and presents them in ways that are relevant to today’s modernized societies. Over the years, the USC graduate has honed a technique that incorporates drip painting and collage work that is both unique and striking. With a style reminiscent of many of history’s great master painters, Miles' imagination is saturated with notions, ideas, and images reflective of a world filled with conflicting interests.

Miles’ work consists mainly of oversized canvases, often stretching up to twelve feet in length and/or height. In addition to the larger pieces, the artist also finds himself drawn to medium sized canvas, linens, diptychs, triptychs and objects like cell phone cases, clothing and fashion accessories, recycled denim, newspapers and most recently digital 3D. While serious collectors can find themselves caught in a whirlwind of themes and series he has developed over the years, selections of his work are also available in print.

His cultural duality and diverse perspectives play a large role in the humanistic consciousness he manages to present in his work. With broad enthusiast appeal, his work is in the permanent collection of Intel Corporation, California African American Museum, Senegal's La Musee Borindar and has appeared in association with CNN, Art Basel Miami, The Coachella Music and Art Festival, CCH Pounder (Avatar, The Shield), Million Dollar Listing, American Rag Cie, Manifest Justice, Adobe, Fashion mogul Tonny Sorenson and several art communities around the country and throughout the world.

Recent press coverage has included CNN, The Huffington Post, and Extra TV, to name a few.

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