Chicago has house. Detroit has techno. But Oakland slaps.
In On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland (UC Press), Alex Werth argues that social science and public debate overlook the ways that popular music and sound animate the politics of race and space. But Black dance music and sonic practices are key to decoding the everyday social movements that have made and remade Oakland, California and other American cities.
In this dynamic event, Werth will introduce readers to the main themes of the book through a multimedia performance that mixes text, images, videos, and live soundscaping. It will be bookended by opening remarks from Dorothy Lazard and an audience Q&A moderated by DJ Kream. Stay after to celebrate and connect over light refreshments.
Details
Doors open at 5:30pm. Seating is first come, first served.
Books will be available for purchase with a 30% discount.
Space is limited, so tickets are capped at two per person.
About the Participants
Alex Werth is a writer, researcher, and DJ. While living for over a decade in the East Bay, he served as a Curatorial Fellow at the Matatu Festival of Stories, Public Imagination Fellow at Yerba Buena Center of the Arts, and co-curator and resident DJ of Oakland’s Good Culture. With a PhD in geography from UC Berkeley, Alex now works as a policy and research consultant specializing in tenants’ rights and housing justice in the Bay Area.
Doroth Lazard is a writer, librarian, and public historian. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she served as the head librarian at the Oakland History Center of the Oakland Public Library. She recently published her memoir What You Don't Know Will Make a Whole New World (Heyday) and serves on the board of Chapter 510.
DJ Kream is a community organizer, event producer, and creative from Oakland. She is one of the cofounders of Oakhella, which has curated stages for everything from the Black Joy Parade to Life Is Living. She also directs communications for Youth Speaks.
