Image - program title
Past Event

‘Epicenter: The Struggle for Black Studies in the Bay Area’: Screening and Discussion

Please join us for a special film documentary screening of Epicenter:The Struggle for Black Studies in the Bay Area, followed by an intimate conversation with filmmaker Doug Harris, Douglas Harris Jr. and cast members. 

The film examines the early student activism of the 1960s and 1970s, which brought the first Black studies departments to higher education in the entire country. The film is very timely, as African American studies programs at institutions of higher education are currently being targeted for closure around the country. 

In chronological order, the documentary will feature segments about Merritt College (1966), San Francisco State (1968) and UC Berkeley (1970), as told by cast members of the film who were on the ground floor of the Bay Area struggles through protests, strikes and riots. The Bay Area stood at the forefront, taking the leap toward introducing the study of Black and other minority cultures that would eventually spread throughout the country.

Organizer
Robert Melton
Notes

An Arts Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

Photus courtesy the speakers.

February 2, 2026

The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
Taube Family Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States

Speakers
Image - Doug Harris

Doug Harris

Filmmaker, Epicenter

Image - Douglas Harris Jr.

Douglas Harris Jr.

Filmmaker, Epicenter

Image - Ramona Tascoe

Dr. Ramona Tascoe

Cast Member, Epicenter; SF State alumnus

Image - James Garrett

Dr. James Garrett

Cast Member, Epicenter; SF State alumnus

Image - Leo Bazile

Leo Bazile

Cast Member, Epicenter; Oakland Merritt College alumnus

Image - Renee Kemp

Moderator: Renee Kemp

Former Anchor & Reporter, KRON-TV and Channel 2

Image - Robert Melton

Introduction: Robert Melton

Art Curator and Co-chair, Arts Member-led Forum, Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California