Ron Dellums, late liberal icon, honored in Oakland music festival

Piper Dellums honors her father at the Ronald V. Dellums International Day of Peace Music Festival in Oakland. Piper Dellums honors her father at the Ronald V. Dellums International Day of Peace Music Festival in Oakland. Photo: Roland Li / The Chronicle Photo: Roland Li / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Ron Dellums, late liberal icon, honored in Oakland music festival 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

More than a hundred people gathered Sunday for an Oakland music festival honoring Ron Dellums, the late congressman and former mayor who died July 30 at age 82.

Eight bands from the East Bay performed at the event, the first of what the Dellums family hopes will become an annual concert. Performances spanned blues, soul and indie rock.

The family also is working with Rep. Barbara Lee, Dellums’ successor and protege, to designate Sept. 9 as Ronald V. Dellums International Day of Peace.

Dellums, a Marine, became an outspoken voice against the Vietnam War and other conflicts while serving 13 terms in Congress. He later became chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee.

“He was a man who fought for all of humanity,” Piper Dellums, his daughter, said onstage. “He was a man that said ... ‘People will not be oppressed and depressed, brutalized, traumatized and treated like lesser than while I have breath in my lungs.’”

The event was to commemorate Dellums’ decades of influence in a way that would appeal to East Bay residents regardless of their background.

“I wanted his legacy to continue in a universal way,” Piper Dellums said in an interview. Music was a natural way to honor Dellums, who was friends with the likes of singer Stevie Wonder, she said.

“My dad’s addicted to music,” she said. “He was a groover. We had music blasting in our house all the time.

“It’s a lyric of the soul. It’s a poetry of change and possibility,” she added.

The event was sponsored by the Dellums family, Port of Oakland, Kaiser Permanente and Scott’s Seafood restaurant in Jack London Square, the Oakland neighborhood where the festival took place.

As she grieved over the past month, Piper Dellums said she’s received numerous phone calls from people who said her father had a profound impact on their lives.

“A young lady called to say, ‘The only reason I’m in college is because of your dad,’” she said. “He touched many lives.”

Roland Li is a Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf