It’s not easy for a woman to break into the male-dominated wine industry, especially a woman of color. The Wine Institute & Women Winemakers of California reported in 2016 that even though 90% of wine made in the US is produced in California, only 10% of those wineries are owned by women. Andrea and Robin McBride are two making black history with their vineyard: McBride Sisters, making them the first African-American sisters to found
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Software Engineer, Employee #1 at Dropbox Aston Motes grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, a small town with plenty of computers to keep him occupied. “I always had computers around me," Motes says in an interview with Fast Company, "...and that’s due to my dad, who I think earlier than most people not in Silicon Valley realized the power of personal computation.” He began learning about code in middle school, and by high school
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Renaissance man, Michael Wayne Turner III, is an award winning writer, poet, spoken word artist, actor, and educator. Taking on the starring role in Chinaka Hodge's Chasing Mehserle, Turner plays Watts a young man who doesn't feel safe in the world, hasn't gone past his Oakland stoop since the Rodney King beating and is obsessed with the Bart officer who killed Oscar Grant, Johannes Mehserle. The play is reminiscent of many of the anxieties felt
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The purity of Jennifer Johns’ voice is never lost within her music. This singer and artist is Oakland born and raised and that Bay Area swagger is present as she performs. Her music is influenced by the African diaspora, hip hop and soul. More than just an entertainer her music speaks to social justice causes and she uses her talent to bring awareness to the issues closest to her heart. It is this commitment to
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Nia King is a freelance multimedia journalist who is definitely the Next Big Thing in journalism! Her book highlighting Queer and Trans Artist of Color and podcast We Want the Airwaves are captivating and give props to artists who don’t receive nearly enough praise for their work. Shout outs to people whose work you admire? We can definitely get behind that cause! You can subscribe to Nia’s podcast and get her book and zines at
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Musician Kev Choice is able to seamlessly switch between a club banger to a classical piano piece and feel 100% authentic performing either. Performing at the 15th annual Art & Soul festival in Oakland, this artist made us stand up and take notice. A seasoned artist, he's been the musical director for Ms. Lauryn Hill and has performed with Mos Def, Digable Planets, DJ Quik and others. According to Choice’s website, his artistic vision is
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In anticipation of the new season of “The Next Big Thing,” we are counting down by sharing with you some creators and influential people who we think will be the next big thing in culture! Bay Area based band Antique Naked Soul set themselves and their music apart by only using their voices for instrumentation. Great harmonies led by Candice “Antique” Davis and backed by N’gala McCoy and Jamie Brown are backed by beatboxer Tommy
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