sharonksobotta

Happy 80th Birthday Gloria Steinem!

A little over five-years ago, I took on my first field assignment for KPFA. I covered the Women's Multicultural Conference at UC Berkeley and did my very first on-the-spot field interview with a woman who has become an icon for women around the world, Gloria Steinem! Here's a clip of my interview with Gloria that I did along with Elisa Parker from KVMR in Nevada City, California! Thanks for fighting to make the world a better place Gloria! Keep fighting for justice and we'll keep fighting along with you:)

Justice for Oscar Grant

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE GATHERED IN OAKLAND TODAY TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR OSCAR GRANT. OSCAR GRANT WAS KILLED EARLY IN THE EARLY HOURS OF JANUARY 1, 2009 BY BART POLICE OFFICER JOHANNES MEHSERLE. JOHANNES MEHSERLE IS SCHEDULED TO BE SENTENCED FOR INVOLUNTARY MAN SLAUGHTER ON NOVEMBER 5.

International Day of Climate Action

International Day of Climate Action--San Francisco, California 2009

Code Pink says 'no' to drones

Code Pink--Cindy Sheehan Drone Protest November, 2009

Spoken Word Talent on the train

My flight was twenty hours away. I still needed to finish my O-audition online application, stop by the consignment store just in case there is a new dress or handbag for my last minute trip to Georgia that is on half price special, oh yes and pack. Oh and I was due to hang out in San Francisco that evening with two separate sets of friends--one group from NYC and another from Delhi, India. I made a quick purchase at the consignment store, ran down North Main Street to the place I consider my second home, Café LaScala, finished my application and then hopped on a train. On my way to the city, a homeless spoken word artist sat behind me and struck up a conversation, before asking for money. “I would,” I started to say. “But, today, I’m….” “I don’t need to hear your excuses,” he snapped. I was feisty that day. “You didn’t let me finish,” I snapped back. “Where you from? I’m from Richmond. I bet you’ve never even been there.” Wrong, wrong and wrong. I went to Richmond all the time—it was the neighboring city to the San Pablo, the home of Contra Costa County Rape Crisis Center. It’s where I went to cover the Richmond High Rape Case, The West Contra Costa Unified Teacher’s Strike, International Women’s Day. I actually went to Richmond every chance I had. By the end of the ride, the spoken word artist and I found our rhythm and he even did a demo for me on my audio recording devise.

Puerto Rican Student Strike

Hundreds of activists from across the country are at the Socailism 2010 Conference in Oakland, Califonia this weekend. I attended the morning session called 'Lessons Learned form the Puerto Rican Student Strike,' for my weekly field story for KPFA news (which can be found in the 6pm news archives for July 3, 2010) and spent time with Roberto Pastrana and Ovido Elfrain Lopez Alers after, to gain a concrete understanding of how the stike played out. They talked, not only about the positive aspects of their student movement, but also about how they could through the rough portions as well.

Climate Change, green,

Global day of climate action--San Francisco