On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Vanessa Camarena-Arredondo of Tao Rising, Jean Melesaine, a Bay Area cultural worker and storyteller, Alex Locust, a disability justice artist and activist, and Sophia Tupuola, a creative problem solver, author, illustrator, and youth organizer, about the launch of Culture Keepers, a new Bay Area project designed to uplift artists, organizers, and community builders whose work is often ignored by mainstream media.
Davey D opened the discussion by explaining why the project matters right now. He pointed to the constant stream of negative coverage about Oakland and San Francisco, noting that many media outlets profit from what he described as “doom looping” the Bay Area. That framing, he argued, reduces Black, Brown, immigrant, and working class communities to crime, disorder, and decline, while ignoring the people doing healing, creative, and transformative work on the ground.
That is where Culture Keepers steps in. Vanessa Camarena-Arredondo said the project was built to shine a light on the artists and cultural workers who hold the heartbeat of the Bay. She explained that the platform not only features individuals, but also highlights the institutions and spaces that help sustain community life, including organizations such as Urban Peace Movement, Galeria de la Raza, Black Cultural Zone, and EastSide Arts Alliance. She framed the project as an invitation to think seriously about how communities care for the people who are constantly caring for everyone else.
Jean Melesaine added that the work is also about protecting narrative and resisting harmful conditioning. She spoke about the need for discipline in what people consume and uplift, arguing that communities must make room for stories rooted in truth rather than simply chasing viral content or outside validation. Her comments underscored one of the show’s central themes: that cultural storytelling is not a side issue, but part of the larger fight for community survival.
Alex Locust brought a disability justice lens to the conversation, describing how Bay Area movement spaces helped them understand disabled people as artists, leaders, and culture keepers. They spoke about their featured work, The Legacy Ball, a theatrical production centering Black, queer, disabled artistry while making accessibility, rest, and collective care central to the performance itself.
Sophia Tupuola reflected on her work as a first generation Samoan American artist and organizer from Bayview Hunters Point. She described using children’s books, youth leadership, and visual storytelling to affirm Black and Brown communities and challenge the distortions often placed on neighborhoods like Bayview.
Together, the guests made clear that Culture Keepers is more than a website. It is a community driven effort to reclaim the narrative, celebrate cultural labor, and make sure the Bay is defined by its people rather than by the stereotypes others profit from.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.