Thomas R. Simpson by Steve Savage

Our Black Voices Performance Series kicks off tomorrow, Friday, September 19th with our Program A.  The world premiere and opening gala performance of Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson's Every Twenty-One Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me. Her personal story of her triumph over cancer. 

 

Our Program B premieres on on Saturday, September 20th with three extraordinary performances by Lance Burton, Joan Tarika Lewis and Kurt (DJ Lamont) Young. The performance will be in support of KPOO FM - 89.5 (kpoo.com) in San Francisco.  Fifty percent of ticket sales will go to keep the station alive and serving the community. Check out the audio promo for the event here: 

http://youtu.be/kFUCFNUxN54

 

Our Project Empowerment Initiative: The Audacity to Succeed: Young Black Men and Boys Soaring Into The Future, takes place on September 27th.

 

I look forward to seeing you at the Festival.


 

Sincerely,

Thomas Robert Simpson

Founder/Artistic Director 

415/771-2376

afrosolo.org

 Black Voices Series:Our Stories, Our Lives

 

When - September 19 - 28, 2014

Where - African American Art and Culture

               762 Fulton Street, San Francisco

   (Limited Free Parking)

Tickets - $15 - $50 

 

Program A: 

Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson will perform Every Twenty Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me, her personal story about being diagnosed with cancer in December 2012. The title refers to her chemotherapy treatments, self-healing practices, and remembrances of family and friends who died from this disease. It's an intimate, funny, and uplifting story about the journey from diagnosis to treatment to physical well being. Johnson is an AfroSolo alumna as a visual artist and lighting designer. With more than thirty-five years of experience behind the scenes, this show represents Johnson's first venture into playwriting and solo performance. Photo by Steve Savage.


 Performance Dates 

Friday, September 19, 7pm Opening Gala Reception, 8pm Performance, $30 

Sunday, September 21, 3pm Performance, $15-$25

Friday, September 26, 8pm Performance, $15-$25 

Sunday, Sept. 28, 3pm Performance, $15-$25

Tickets: brownpapertickets.com/event/840324 or call 1-800-838-3006

             For groups of 10 or more, $5 off each ticket (email: thomas@afrosolo.org) 

 

Program B:

Lance Burton will perform The Irrelevance of Being Relevant, the story of a Black man who, as a 1st grader, left Little Rock, Arkansas for San Francisco just as the 101st Airborne dropped into Little Rock to escort 9 Black students into Central High School. He shares his trials as a teen navigating 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the Fillmore and protests in the Haight/Ashbury. Leaping to years later, he considers the struggles of loves, marriage and a 30-year career on the fringe of media and technology as a Black man in San Francisco. Burton is a media entrepreneur creating print, video and photographic features, stories and profiles that depict the Black experience in San Francisco over the past 75 years. Photo by Thomas Simpson. 

 

Tarika Lewis performs My Life As A Black Panther, her personal story as the first female to join the Black Panther Party (BPP) for Self Defense in 1967. She was one of the founding members of It's About Time, a website dedicated to the legacy and alumni of the BPP. She was also a consultant on the movie "Panther" by Marlo Van Peebles and played herself in a few scenes. Lewis is an accomplished violinist and has traveled the world playing in the Legendary John Handy's Band and many others. Lewis is the director of MyStringsOfSoul, a youth instruction and string ensemble that performs Jazz, Traditional African, Hip Hop, R&B and good Soul music.

 

Kurt (DJ Lamont) Young performs If God Wanted Me To Fly, an autobiographical story about the last time he spent time with his father's father and how his granddad's favorite pair of dress shoes traveled with Young around the world. DJ Lamont is a KPOO FM - San Francisco, CA programmer, renowned disc jockey, and audio storyteller. He now takes those skills and live performance to the stage. Young is the founder of Fingersnaps Media Arts, which is dedicated to the education, cultivation, and inspiration of DJ culture.  


Performance Dates

Saturday, September 20, 7pm - Opening Gala Reception, 8pm performance, $30

This GALA Performance will be a Fundraiser for KPOO FM 89.5,  
San Francisco (kpoo.com)
Attend AfroSolo on 9/20 and Support KPOO

 

Sunday, September 21, 7pm performance, $15-$25

Saturday, September 27, 8pm performance, $15-$25 

Sunday, September 28, 7pm performance, $15-$25 


 

Tickets: brownpapertickets.com/event/840460  or call 1-800-838-3006

For groups of 10 or more, $5 off each ticket (email: thomas@afrosolo.org) 


Gala Special:  Attend Gala for Programs A and B for $50 and Save $10
Project Empowerment: "The Audacity To Succeed!" 

When: Saturday, September 27, 2014 
11am - Noon: Registration
Noon - 6 pm: Conference
Where: African American Art and Culture Complex
       762 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA
Free:     Register in Advance (info@afrosolo.org with name, age and contact                      info)
Info: thomas@afrosolo.org or call 415/771-2376

AfroSolo Arts Festival proudly joins President Obama's My Brothers Keeper Initiative by inaugurating Project Empowerment: The Audacity To Succeed. The purpose of this initiative is to help young Black men and boys successfully transcend youth to adulthood.

AfroSolo was inspired to action by a by-chance encounter with a report stating that on July 31, 2013, that more than sixty percent of the youths locked up in San Francisco's juvenile detention were African American. Of that, about fifty-seven percent were boys. These are startling statistics since African Americans make up less than six percent of the city's population. Upon further research, we found this to be close to the norm locally, state wide and nationally. Unfortunately, these stats are inline with todays figures.

With three different approaches, Project Empowerment's goals are to provide information, inspiration and tools to help young Black men and boys live happy, healthy and productive lives.
 
Using the arts as a conduit, we will convene an Audacity To Succeed Conference, publish an anthology of letters from established Black men to young Black men and boys and host extraordinary performances featuring our target population. The Conference and the performance extravaganza will take place on September 27, 2014.

To register and for more info visit: