Join us as October’s Spotlight Sunday wades into the powerful story of Russell City with a film screening & panel discussion, moderated by Alexis Madrigal.

Please join us for an afternoon of storytelling centering Native fire practices from four visionary Native Californian memory keepers. The program will begin with a film screening of Fire Tender, co-directed by Roni Jo Draper, PhD (Yurok) and Marissa Lila Kongao, which shares context on settler colonial fire suppression, highlights the work of Yurok firelighters to reclaim and pass on traditional eco-cultural knowledge, and meditates on the power of fire to heal land and communities. 

Coinciding with the Winter Solstice, this month’s Spotlight Sunday celebrates Yalda Night, an ancient Persian holiday marking the longest night of the year. With performances by internationally acclaimed Iranian Bay Area-based singers Mahsa Vahdat and Marjan Vahdat, accompanied by musician and writer Atabak Elyasi, we will weave together stories of renewal and awakening. 

OMCA’s Spotlight Sundays is excited to continue our Community Conversations series. The year’s installment will explore radical public imagining. In alignment with OMCA’s special exhibition, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain, project partners will include Dominique Walker and Alia Phelps of Moms4Housing, Brandi T. Summers of Archive of Urban Futures, and June Grant of blink!LAB architecture. Through performance, interactive engagement, movement, and conversation, this immersive experience will examine what it means to build our muscles for audacious dreaming during difficult times. Please join us for this inspiring event!

The Black Church has long been a cornerstone of Black culture, shaping movements, inspiring iconic music and art, and carrying forward enduring traditions. OMCA is honored to welcome guests to join the creators of the Black Joy Parade for a thoughtful exploration of how the Black Church has served as both a space of resistance and celebration, and why the presence of the Black Joy Choir remains central to the parade’s spirit. The afternoon opens with a soul-stirring performance by the acclaimed Black Joy Choir, followed by a premiere screening of the documentary short Total Praise: The Blueprint Behind the Black Joy Parade.

During the month of Trans Day of Visibility, join us for a creative exploration of trans ancestors and their indelible legacies of resistance. Community historian Andrea Horne will give a talk about her life’s work unearthing histories of Black trans luminaries. Learn about her groundbreaking research that confronts a limited written record and unveils stories—from the fantastic to the everyday—of how Black trans women changed the world. This talk is open to all, and tickets are required.

Spotlight Sundays invites guests to an in-depth conversation about the future of fire through the lens of Indigenous fire practices. Corrina Gould of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust will lead a conversation with Jordan Reyes and Patty Franklin of Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance. The discussion will illuminate how fire is an essential component of Native lifeways, affirms tribal sovereignty, and is a critical element for healthy California ecosystems. Learn what it means to be a steward of the land and how Native fire practitioners are increasing their efforts to build a more sustainable future with fire in California.

Join us for a special gathering showcasing stories of survival and resilience through food culture and ancestral wisdom with People’s Kitchen Collective (PKC) and Understory. This event will begin with a screening of the documentary Earth Seed: A People’s Journey of Radical Hospitality by filmmaker Fox Nakai and PKC. Rooted in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series and the legacy of the Black Panther Party’s community engagement strategies, this film maps the Earth Seed pilgrimage through five regions of California.