Wendell Pierce: A soaring and eloquent voice speaks out about the redemptive and healing power of art

Wendell Pierce's memoir, 'The Wind in the Reeds:
A Storm, A Play, and the City That Would Not Be Broken'
is about the redemptive and healing power of art and
about New Orleans, a city he loves so dearly.

From his leading roles in HBO's The Wire and Treme to his feature film appearances in Selma, Ray and Waiting to Exhale, I've admired the work of the Tony Award-winning actor and producer Wendell Pierce for many years.

When I learned a few months ago that Pierce would be coming to the Bay Area to speak at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco on October 30, I marked it on my calendar and bought tickets to this Arts & Ideas lecture. For more than an hour last Friday evening, Pierce spoke in both a soaring and eloquent tone of voice about the redemptive and healing power of art and about New Orleans, the city of his birthplace and the origin of his creativity. It is a city that he loves so dearly.

Pierce has written a new memoir, The Wind in the Reeds: A Storm, A Play, and the City That Would Not Be Broken, that is truly a page-turner.

'The Wind in the Reeds' is truly
a page-turner.

Both poignant and redemptive, in The Wind in the Reeds, Pierce tells the stories of his family, his city and his creative journey in the arts, and how they are all connected to one another. And, just as importantly, how they are "precious and worth saving, and how art has been critically important in revitalizing this unique American city."

On the back of the book's dust jacket, James McBride, author of The Color of Water and The Good Lord Bird, writes:

"This is more than a memoir. It's an adventure in history, encompassing the timeless elements that propelled this fourth-generation grandson of a slave into one of the most important dramatic actors of our age: family, art, truth, religion, and of course a mother's love. This is a story of sacrifice and blood struggle, of victory and selflessness, told with deep humility and grace by one of the most important American artists of our generation."

Pierce, 51, writes in his memoir: "We know who we are by the stories we tell about ourselves and our world. We know who we are through the family and community of whose stories we are a part.

"We make our stories. And our stories make us.

"I am not sure the stories of my family are art, exactly. After all, they came down to me not as objects to be admired for their beauty. Then again, they contain so much truth and goodness that they cannot help being beautiful as well. Their trials, their triumphs, the virtues that gave them the strength to overcome -- all of these things live in the stories my family shares as an inheritance that grows as we invest in it each successive generation.

"I draw creative strength from my roots buried deep in south Louisiana. Until the storm, I did not appreciate how much those roots were the veins connecting my heart to the body of historical experience that gave birth to the man I am today, and the man -- and the artist -- I am becoming every day."

Since Hurricane Katrina devastated his native New Orleans in 2005, Pierce has devoted much time and energy helping to rebuild the flood-ravaged Pontchartrain Park, a black middle-class neighborhood which became the first African-American post-war suburb, where was raised by his parents -- his father retired from the military and became a photographer and his mother was a school teacher. "In my family, we have a motto: Don't ever tell me you can't do something."

Throughout the evening, Pierce kept returning to the themes of a love of family and community in describing what brought him back to his roots and the need to do something positive to help in the city's recovery, to pick up the pieces. He so very much wanted to see his city to come back. So, he became a community rebuilder.

Wendell Pierce (right) performing in 'Waiting for Godot'.
The actor said it was a cathartic experience for him
and it reminded him of the power of art.
"It was an awakening."

"After Katrina, there were miles and miles of destruction and nothing there, nothing was right. And yet, we stagger onward rejoicing," said Pierce. One of the ways the actor helped his community rebuild -- and by extension his city -- was by performing in what became a legendary production of Waiting for Godot, which was staged in two of the neighborhoods that were most damaged by Hurricane Katrina. It became a chance for the city of New Orleans to come together and to celebrate "the human capacity for resilience."

In a recent NPR interview, Pierce said performing Waiting for Godot was a cathartic experience for him and it reminded him of the power of art. "It was an awakening. Waiting for Godot, this existential play about two men in this void with only a tree and a road, with no sense of who they are, where they've been, where they hope to do -- a real sense of desperation and loss, awaiting for something to help them something to guide them, to find who they are. They're waiting for Godot. They don't even know what or who Godot is.

"And it's in that moment that they come to the realization in this play that the power that they truly have is within themselves. And Vladimir says, 'At this place in this moment of time all mankind is us.  Let us do something while we have the chance.'"

In his book, Pierce writes of the "collaborative potential that art has to heal ourselves, our families and our communities." On Friday, Pierce reminded us of this, saying: "We reflect on who we are as a society and community. The legacy of New Orleans can be seen through the arts. Everything comes together as we deal with life."

Photo of Wendell Pierce at JCCSF Arts & Ideas: © Michael Dickens, 2015.
Photo of Wendell Pierce in 'Waiting for Godot': Courtesy of Google Images.

Stephen Curry: MVP season is summed up in passionate 'thank you' speech to his teammates, family and fans

Stephen Curry / A unique combination of talent and humility.

Watching Stephen Curry win the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award this week -- the league's highest honor -- reminded me of the values of shooting, screening, cutting and passing he's shown throughout what has been a truly remarkable season. Curry, who stars for the Golden State Warriors, my hometown team, was the best player on basketball's best team.

Curry, the Warriors' first MVP since Wilt Chamberlain won in 1960, is a sharpshooting guard on a team that won a league-best 67 of 82 regular season games and is 5-1 in the playoffs so far. He is part of a very deep and very well-coached team, the marquee player that Golden State has built its team around.

Curry's memorable season statistics were dazzling and reflected his value to his team. He was sixth in the league in scoring (23.8 points per game), sixth in assists (7.7 per game ), third in three-point shooting (44.3 percent), first in free-throw shooting (91.4 percent), and fourth in steals (2.04 per game).

At a press conference in an Oakland, Calif. ballroom in front of about 500 friends, family and teammates on Monday, the diminutive (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) Curry shared the lessons that perseverance, faith and confidence played. He took the time to thank each of his teammates individually in his MVP speech and choked up when he talked about his father, former NBA guard Dell Curry, as his role model.

Among the words which Curry's Warrior teammates used to describe him: genuine. And Steve Kerr, his coach, called Curry a unique combination of talent and humility. "The way he carries himself, his demeanor," said Kerr.

Curry said he would donate his MVP prize car to the East Oakland Youth Development Center.

Among the highlights of Curry's speech, which focused on the importance of team:

"We’ll remember this year no matter how it finishes, really.  But we have a huge goal in mind this year, and we’ll be able to talk about it for years to come.

"Every time we think of this moment we’ll talk about it and moments that hopefully will happen in a couple of months, it will all mean so much to us. How much sacrifice we’ve put into it, how much work, just the consistency that it takes to get to where we are.  It takes all 14 guys.  You can’t have one bad apple in this equation, and we don’t.

"So we’re truly grateful.  I’m grateful to have this team behind me.  This is not possible without you guys.  I want everybody to get a fingerprint on that so I can remember who I rolled with during this year, and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"All right.  I’ve been long‑winded, but this is the last part.  I’ve talked about faith, passion, and the drive with the guys that I’ve been around and the guys that surround me every single day.  But a part of that is having the will to succeed.  Knowing that you’ve put the work in and have the confidence to let it show.  What I tell people is be the best version of yourself in anything that you do.

"You don’t have to live anybody else’s story.  Sometimes people make it seem like you have to have certain prerequisites or a crazy life story in order to be successful in this world.  But the truth is you really don’t.  It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you have or don’t have, what you lack or what you have too much of, but all you need to have is faith in God, an undying passion for what you do and what you choose to do in this life, and a relentless drive and the will to do whatever it takes to be successful in whatever you put your mind to."

Finally, after nearly 40 minutes, Curry summed up his speech by sharing a bit of advice and wisdom from the heart:

"Make sure you live in the moment and work your butt off every single day, and I hope I inspire people all around the world to just be themselves, be humble, and be grateful for all the blessings in your life.  I’m truly honored to be your MVP this year.  Thank you very much."

Photo: Courtesy of Google Images. 

A year of being Pope Francis

Pope Francis / "A man who laughs, cries, sleeps soundly and
has friends like everyone else. Just a normal person."

We're a year into the Pope Francis era. It's been filled with much hero-worship and adulation. Francis has graced the cover of Rolling Stone and been named Time magazine's Person of the Year. He's greeted by adoring fans wherever he goes. Among American Catholics, the 77-year-old Argentinean pontiff, born Jorge Mario Bergolio, is enjoying greater popularity than Pope Benedict XVI did in February of last year, when he suddenly announced his resignation.

Pope Francis, often pictured smiling in his white cassock, has shown much energy and charisma in shaping a new tone around the Vatican. He's become more open in granting interviews to the mainstream media while also embracing social media as a viable means for spreading the message and values as the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. 

Pope Francis waves at adoring
crowd in St. Peter's Square.

Noted for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a means of building bridges to between people of all backgrounds, beliefs and faiths, Francis "has dramatically altered the style of the papacy, making a series of symbolic choices that have solidified his persona as a plain-living, down-to-earth and genial head of the Catholic church," the London-based Guardian wrote earlier this month.

Now, a new poll out just in time for Lent reveals that a broad majority of American Catholics say Pope Francis represents not only a major change in direction for the church, but a change for the better. And yet, the poll conducted last month by the Pew Research Center suggests "his popularity has not inspired more Americans to attend Mass, go to confession or identify as Catholic — a finding that suggests that so far, the much-vaunted 'Francis effect' is influencing attitudes, but not behavior," The New York Times reported last week.

The poll, conducted between Feb. 14-23, included 1,821 adults. There was a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all Americans, and six percentage points for the subgroup of 351 Catholics.

"Francis, who draws giddy teenagers to his Wednesday audiences and generates Twitter traffic with every public remark, has clearly invigorated the church," The New York Times wrote. "But the poll finds that Francis has raised expectations of significant change, even though he has alluded that he may not alter the church’s positions on thorny doctrinal issues."

Among the poll's findings: Almost six in 10 American Catholics said they expected the church "would definitely or probably lift its prohibition on birth control by the year 2050, while half said the church would allow priests to marry." Also, four in 10 said they thought the church would ordain women as priests, and "more than two-thirds said it would recognize same-sex marriages by 2050." Further, "large majorities of American Catholics said they wanted the church to change on the first three matters, and half wanted the church to recognize same-sex marriages."

Pope Francis / A mixture of
homespun personality and
compassion.

As he reaches the first anniversary of his papacy this week, on March 13, among the priority issues that Pope Francis has faced during his first year include: addressing a clergy sex-abuse scandal, spreading the Catholic faith, standing for traditional moral values, addressing the needs and concerns of the poor, and overhauling the Vatican bureaucracy. He's tackling all the important issues of the day with a mixture of homespun personality and compassion. Seventy-one percent of those polled believe that Pope Francis represented a "major change in direction."

Finally, while the papal vestments include the wearing of a cape, the pontiff said he shouldn't be called a Superman. "To paint the Pope as a sort of Superman, a kind of star, seems offensive to me," Francis told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. "The Pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps soundly and has friends like everyone else. A normal person."

• • •

Note: To learn more about the first year of Pope Francis, I encourage you to read John Cornwell's excellent feature in the March 7 issue of The Financial Times.

Photographs courtesy: CNN.com, Telegraph.co.uk, theguardian.com.

Remembering Mabida: He was a universal symbol of tolerance and hope

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." — Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013.

We were all saddened by the news of the passing of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president and an icon of peaceful resistance.

Mr. Mandela died at his home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton on Thursday night at age 95. News of his death spread quickly around the world through cable news networks like CNN, in social media such as Facebook and via the internet, and in the days since, there's been no shortage or tumult of remembrances. Mr. Mandela has been memorialized as an icon, a radical, a leader and a luminary.

Beloved by all, Mr. Mandela was a universal symbol of tolerance and hope, a man of great heart and compassion. Following his release prison after 27 years of incarceration, Mr. Mandela led South Africa through emancipation from white minority rule and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

"Mr. Mandela's quest for freedom took him from the court of tribal royalty to the liberation underground to a prison rock quarry to the presidential suite of Africa's richest country," wrote The New York Times. "And then, when his first term of office was up, unlike so many of the successful revolutionaries he regarded as kindred spirits, he declined a second term and cheerfully handed over power to an elected successor, the country still gnawed by crime, poverty, corruption and disease but a democracy, respected in the word and remarkably at peace."

In announcing Mr. Mandela's death to an entire nation, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa said: "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him their love." 

Regardless of our race, nationality or country of residence, Mr. Mandela will be remembered by many as the "world's kindly white-haired grandfather." His last public appearance was in 2010, when South Africa hosted football's World Cup.

World leaders across several continents were united in their praise of Mr. Mandela and their tributes were filled with superlatives.

• "A giant among men has passed away. This is as much India's loss as South Africa's." — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India.

• "A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time." — Prime Minister David Cameron, Britain.

• "All of Canada mourns with the family of Nelson Mandela and the citizens of South Africa. The world has lost one of its great moral leaders." — Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

• "Today we say goodbye to a man who brought hope, a true hero who will continue to inspire us." — Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, Belgium.

Here in the U.S., President Barack Obama reflected on Mr. Mandela's life by praising him as a man of courage and compassion. "Let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived — a man who took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice."

And, former U.S. President Bill Clinton noted that history will remember Mr. Mandela as a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation. "All of us are living in a better world because of the life Madiba lived. He proved that there is a freedom in forgiving, that a big heart is better than a closed mind, and that life's real victories must be shared."

To have an understanding of Mr. Mandela's religious, spiritual and humanist worldview, one need only look to his 1994 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, which profiled his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison.

"The story told by Mandela's life is not one of infallible human beings and inevitable triumph. It is the story of a man who was willing to risk his own life for what he believed in, and who worked hard to lead the kind of life that would make the world a better place," said Mr. Obama.

Mr. Mandela was also praised by leaders of the religious community, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who like Mr. Mandela was a Nobel laureate and a towering figure in South Africa's struggle against apartheid. He said that Mr. Mandela "embodied our hopes and dreams, symbolized our enormous potential."

At the Vatican, Pope Francis praised "the steadfast commitment shown by Nelson Mandela in promoting the human dignity of all the nation's citizens."

In San Francisco, the Very Rev. Dr. Jane Shaw, Dean of Grace Cathedral, said that "it is appropriate to take a moment to thank God for his example and the profound influence for peace he life has had. ... We celebrate his life and will continue in his example to fight against institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality."

Praise also came from the streets from fellow South African citizens like Shadrack Motau, who accompanied Mr. Mandela on a tour of his Soweto neighborhood after his release from prison. He told The New York Times: "The man had so much humility. He treated everyone with respect and dignity, from statesmen to children."

By all accounts, Mr. Mandela loved being in the company of children. He spoke often of the importance that education played with shaping the world's youth. "Young people must take it upon themselves to ensure that they receive the highest education possible so that they can represent us well in the future as future leaders."

Those old enough to remember the struggle against apartheid have flocked for days to Mr. Mandela's home to pay tribute to South Africa's departed leader through means of joyful noise. 

"We should, while mourning, also sing at the top of our voices, dance and do whatever we want to do, to celebrate the life of this outstanding revolutionary who kept the spirit of freedom alive and led us to a new society," South African president Zuma said in a statement over the weekend. "As South Africans, we sing when we are happy, and we also sing when we are sad to make ourselves feel better. 

"Let us celebrate Madiba in this way, which we know best," Mr. Zuma added, referring to Mr. Mandela by his widely used clan name. "Let us sing for Madiba."

On Tuesday, in rain-soaked Soweto township, President Obama, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and some of Mandela's grandchildren were among those who spoke during a four-hour memorial service honoring Mr. Mandela, held in the 95,000-capacity FNB Stadium (built for the 2010 World Cup) and attended by more than 100 heads of state and other dignitaries and celebrities. 

"It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailer as well; to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion and generosity and truth," Mr. Obama said in a stirring eulogy. "He changed laws, but he also changed hearts."

Worth reading for its comprehensive look at the life of Mr. Mandela is the 6,500-word obit which appeared in The New York Times on Friday. It was written by the paper's former executive editor Bill Keller, who in the 1990s was its Johannesburg bureau chief. The obit was eight years in the making and it included comments from a 2007 interview Keller conducted with Mr. Mandela.

Across a wide spectrum, many have shared their thoughts about Mr. Mandela's passing. Here are a few worth sharing:

• The Rev. Al Sharpton shared the sentiment of many, not only in my country but throughout the world, when he commented on MSNBC in the first hour after the announcement of Mr. Mandela's death: "We've lost one of the world's great citizens." 

• Muhammad Ali, generally considered among the greatest heavyweight boxers in the world — a sport which Mr. Mandela participated in his youth — said in a statement: "He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free."

• The American poet Maya Angelou, who unveiled a tribute poem to Mr. Mandela, shared her thoughts about his impact on the world with CBS News, saying: "He showed us how liberating it is to forgive."

• CNN's Christiane Amanpour, who is no stranger to reporting about world leaders, put things into perspective when she said: "Nelson Mandela was the towering moral giant of the 20th and 21st centuries. We will not see the likes of Madiba again for a long, long time."

• Finally, Kofi Annan, who is the chair of The Elders and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation and from 1997-2006 served as the secretary-general of the United Nations, wrote in a Financial Times commentary: "Almost 20 years ago, Mandela said South Africa had come as far as it had on the path to peace and democracy only because the world had set his country 'a moral example which we had dared to follow.' As we mourn his passing and honour his memory, the task for leaders and citizens alike is to dare to follow his example — in every corner of Africa and across the world."

Photograph of Nelson Mandela courtesy of Google Images, 2013.