“Spend the Holidays with JENNIFER HOLLIDAY” comes to the historic Carolina Theatre of Durham on Saturday, November 21st as a benefit celebration supporting the St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation at Hayti Heritage Center.

“Jennifer Holliday plans to showcase what is expected to be a major highlight for the holiday season in the Triangle,” says Gary L. Hooker, Executive Producer for SEE Entertainment. “Ms. Holliday will be singing her hits, as well as, some songs from the holiday season.” Mr. Hooker adds, “…To be able to raise awareness and proceeds for a nationally recognized and worthwhile organization like Hayti, will really set a meaningful tone during this season of giving!”

After more than two decades since she starred in the hit Broadway musical “Dreamgirls,” JENNIFER HOLLIDAY, is a woman with a voice that has evolved into what is arguably one of the greatest female voices of rhythm and blues of the 20th century. She is a vocal powerhouse whose hardy, passionate, throaty and soulful voice touches hearts and leaves her audience flooded with emotions running deep and their spirits soaring high.

While performing on Broadway in “Box With God,” Jennifer captured the attention of the famous Broadway director-choreographer, Michael Bennett (A Chorus Line). Bennett cast Jennifer in the starring role of Effie “Melody” White in his production of ”Dreamgirls,” which garnered Jennifer a Tony Award for best Actress In A Musical. Her other Broadway musical credits include Chicago, Grease, “Down-Hearted Blues: the Story of Bessie Smith,” “Sing Mahalia, Sing: the Story of Mahalia Jackson” and Harlem Suite.

Holliday, a two-time Grammy Award winner, has recorded five chart-making CD’s for Arista, Geffen and Intersound Records. Her signature spine-tingling hit song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” charted at #1 on the R&B charts and was top 40 Pop charter, as well. Holliday won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance and she was awarded a second Grammy for Best Inspirational Vocal Performance for her soul-stirring rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” a tribute to the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. “The Best of JENNIFER HOLLIDAY: Millennium Collection” on Universal Records is her most recent release.

“We’re thrilled that Ms. Holliday and SEE Entertainment have agreed to provide this opportunity for the people in the Triangle. We’re even more thrilled to bring additional awareness to the advancement of cultural understanding that we, at Hayti, use as our fundamental objective,” says V. Dianne Pledger, President/CEO of Hayti Heritage Center. “…Not to mention, Jennifer Holliday and the holiday season seems like a wonderful combination,” she says.

JENNIFER HOLLIDAY is a legend of the musical theatre and a veteran of soul music. Whether she’s singing at the White House, the Pops Symphony, the Broadway Stage, a Baptist Church or just an Evening of Love Songs and Classic Jazz Standards, JENNIFER HOLLIDAY continues to inspire a whole new generation of admirers of all ages.

Jennifer also has several chart-topping singles. She has recorded with such artists as Barbara Streisand, Foreigner, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Michael McDonald, Maurice White, Peabo Bryson, Loretta Lynn, the Cincinnati Pops Symphony and many CD compilations featured with other artists, including soundtracks for “The Five Heartbeats,” “The Woo-Woo Kid,” “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka,” “In The Mood” and “The Rising Place.”

Jennifer’s ardent fans have remained faithful to her for more then two decades since her first performance in “Dreamgirls.” Jennifer is a “Singer’s Singer.” She’s an exciting performer who delivers her songs with great passion. She’s a vocal powerhouse who chews on every lyric, infusing them with emotional statements. Her Voice, Her Song, Her Story and Her Spirit are “a True Gift from God” to music lovers all over the world!

“Spend the Holidays with JENNIFER HOLLIDAY” with special guest, the Stanley Baird Group and host, Debra Terry takes place Saturday, November 21st @ 8:00pm at Carolina Theatre of Durham – 309 West Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701.

For ticket information, contact http://www.carolinatheatre.org or by phone at 919-560-3030

Spoken Word Poets Join Forces for an Unforgettable Worship Experience

Join Soul Redemption Ink and an illustrious cast of spiritual spoken word artists as they present “The Greatest Church Service Ever”, a divinely poetic worship experience guaranteed to lift your spirits and add spice to your daily bread.

Led by well-known spiritual poet Tim Jackson, the event will feature a talented group of gifted wordsmiths including Woman Storm (former co-host of Greensboro’s Livest Open Mic, The Collective), renowned poets and hosts of NUSPA, 13 of Nazareth and Kannikki J Mix; Raleigh’s own daughter of Ra, Queen Sharon; poetry slam veteran and Bull City Slam Team founder and coach, Dasan Ahanu; Other inspiring poets scheduled to perform are Shona Marie, Sir Charles Freeman and Poetic Mike Anderson.

The event will be hosted by the incomparable Angela Ray, actress, author, motivational speaker and founder of Mahogany Dime Awards. Special guest singers and youth performers are also on the roster to join in on the special evening of devotion.

“As poets, our highest form of praise is through our poetry and we want to share this gift,” shares Jackson. “Unlike the poetic stage plays I’ve produced in the past, this is a complete church service designed to bring the community together in praise and worship through poetry and song.”

“The Greatest Church Service Ever” will take place at 6:30pm(doors open @ 6:00pm) on Sunday, November 1, 2009 at the historic Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, North Carolina. The event is $5 at door and is expected to sell out quickly. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Hayti Heritage ticket office. For more information, contact the Hayti’s ticket office at 919.683.1709 ext 21.

We are pleased to announce that the 7:30 PM film screening of BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME for October 23 is SOLD OUT: but with permission of the producers we will have a second screening of BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME at 10:30 PM. Tickets are now available at the Hayti Heritage Center BOX OFFICE or call (919) 683-1709 ext. 21 to reserve a ticket.

Directed by Jeb Stuart, October 23, 2009

Timothy B. Tyson’s autobiographical book, “Blood Done Sign My name” will be center stage next week at the Hayti Heritage Center. Tyson’s historical drama will be brought to life in two separate events.

Actor Mike Wiley will present his riveting one-man play, Blood Done Sign My Name, Thursday night, October 22nd, at 7:30pm. The story continues with a shift to the screen on Friday, October 23rd, with the North Carolina premiere of the new feature film adapted and directed by Jeb Stuart. The screening is part of the new Hayti Heritage Film Festival series “Friday Night at the Movies” and will begin at 7:30pm. The next screening is scheduled for November 20th.

Shot last spring in Shelby, Charlotte, and surrounding areas, Blood Done Sign My Name stars Rick Schroder (NYPD Blue, 24) as Vern Tyson and Nate Parker (The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters) as Ben Chavis. The film also features a host of local talent as well as other well-known actors.

Both the film and the play tell the true story of “Henry “Dickie” Marrow, a 23 year-old U.S. Army veteran who was allegedly murdered in 1970 by local white businessman, Robert Teel, and his sons Larry and Roger. The men were acquitted of the crime by an all white jury despite testimony by multiple eyewitnesses. The plot focuses on the role of a high school teacher and the civil unrest that followed the acquittal.

UNC-CH Alumni Jeb Stuart best known for his screenplays Die Hard and The Fugitive will be in attendance. Immediately following the film, Mr. Stuart will take part in a panel discussion and take questions from the audience along with Timothy Tyson, singer/actress Mary Williams, and other actors from the film.

This screening comes well ahead of the February 2010 scheduled theatrical release of the film. Tickets are only $5 and are available at the Hayti Heritage Center box office or call (919) 683- 1709 advance tickets suggested.

If you would like to schedule an interview with Jeb Stuart on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 or Friday, October 23rd, please contact Angela Ray at (919) 302 – 2129.

Lyda Moore Merrick Gallery @ Hayti Heritage Center Host
“Color Me Blue”: A Contemporary Portrait of Blues Musicians by Jackie Merritt
October 9 – December 6, 2009

St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. will host the work of talented visual artist and musician Jackie Merritt in the Lyda Moore Merrick Gallery October 9 through December 6, 2009. Her exhibition “Color Me Blue”: A Contemporary Portrait of Blues Musicians. A series of paintings and drawings portraying blues musicians has travel the southeastern United States and lands here in Durham, the home of the Piedmont Blues.

Portraits of musicians such as Etta James, Elizabeth Cotton, Warner Williams, Odetta, Betty Carter (jazz and blues) Rese Gibbs, Toni Lynn Washington, Mike Baytop, Gaye Adegbalola, Willie Foster, Albert Adams and others will be displayed. A special portrait of the late John Cephas, also a past performer at the Bull Durham Blues Festival will be shown.

Jackie exhibited her first series of the music based blues portraits called “Women of the Blues” at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA in 2004. Since then, she has shown several of these blues themed exhibits at locations such the Cultural Arts Center Gallery in Smithfield, VA.; The Charles Taylor Art Center in Hampton, VA; The House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD. And most recently gave a one Woman Exhibit at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival in Alexandria, VA.

Jackie holds a BA, Bachelor of Arts in Education from Norfolk State University and a MA, Masters of Arts in Painting from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She has taught undergraduate and graduate painting/drawing classes at several universities: Norfolk State University, Elizabeth City State University, Virginia Common Wealth University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and most recently Thomas Nelson Community College.

She is a member of the M.S.G.-The Acoustic Blues Trio, which performed at the 2008 Bull Durham Blues Festival. Featured during this exhibition schedule the group will conduct a Blues in the Schools residency in Durham Public Schools sponsored by the Foundation.

……….
Music:
M.S.G.-The Acoustic Blues Trio (harmonica, guitar and bones)
Blues Xchange (bass)
Miz A & The Freedom Band (Gaye Adegbalola’s NEW electric blues band) (bass)
Singer/Songwriter

Jackie Merritt – is an accomplished musician and visual artist
August 2009 received the First John Cephas Memorial Scholarship to carry on the Legacy of Piedmont Blues at “Centrum,” in Port Townsend, WA.

In 2006, she was asked to play harmonica on the syndicated PBS series “Cultivating Life”, which is still being aired on PBS and now FOX. She was also for several years Phil Wiggins’ harmonica teaching assistant at Augusta Heritage Center’s “Bluesweek” at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV.

October 25 at Hayti Heritage Center

Durham Acts: Grassroots Engagement lecture and panel discussion will take place at the Hayti Heritage Center on Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm in the St. Joseph’s Performance Hall. The program will bring Durham community organizations, grass root activists and residents together to dialogue and discuss Durham’s historical and socio-political past, in the context of politics, history and socio-cultural interaction. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Devin Fergus (the author of Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics) will be on hand to discuss his research and contextualize the interactivity of these events, individuals and groups that were integral in this unique part of Durham’s and North Carolina’s cultural history. Many of the groups and participants (e.g. Black Panther Party of W-S, N.C., Soul City, Joanne Little Case, Malcolm X. Liberation University will also be invited to the program and recognized for their efforts in this aspect of North Carolina history. Dr. Fergus, Assistant Professor of History, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.

Durham Acts: Grassroots Engagement program will act as a conduit to bring together Durham’s diverse communities to dialogue about human welfare, community engagement and inter-racial collaboration. The unique narrative is discussed in-depth in Devin Fergus’ recently released book Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics. Much of the traditional scholarship on the post Civil Rights, Black Power era contends that individuals and groups operated in a vacuum—separate and apart from each other. However, in the case of Durham’s diverse, multi-ethnic, populace, traditional individual community roles were often blurred in the eyesight of the casual observer—partly because its citizens could not be placed in narrowly defined categories (e.g. conservative, liberal, radical) based upon ethnic identification, political orientation, gender perspective, religious affiliation or social activity.

All of the chapters in Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics (i.e. Hidden Histories of Remittance: Liberalism and the Making of Black Nationalism in North Carolina, 1965-1970; We Had a Beautiful Thing: Malcolm X. Liberation University, the Black Middle Class, and the Black Liberation Movement; From Rebellion to Reform: Constitutional Liberalism and the Black Panther Party, 1968-1974; In Defense of Sister Joan: The Joan Little Case and American Justice in the Cosmopolitan South, 1974-1975; Speaking Truth to Power: Cosmopolitan Black Nationalism and its Gendered Discontents; Federally Subsidized Black Nationalism: Soul City, Statist Liberalism, and the Rise of the New Right, 1968-1980) chronicle the roles and actions of selected Durham and North Carolina citizenry. Although many North Carolina citizens, educators and school children are familiar with the Durham/North Carolina liberal, black power historical narrative, the majority are unaware of the specific role played by local and regional citizens within the context of the aforementioned framework.

Malcolm X. Liberation University founded in Durham, North Carolina, which Fergus devotes a chapter to in his narrative, will celebrate its 40th year anniversary in October 2009. The principal organizer of MXLU, Howard Fuller, and many former MXLU faculty/students are scheduled to be in Durham the weekend of October 23-24, 2009, several days preceding the aforementioned community dialogue slated for October 25, 2009. Thus, the MXLU commemoration will make for an excellent kick-off to the Durham Acts: Grassroots Engagement program.

Scheduled to participate in the panel discussion are Attorney Karen Bethea Shields, Mr. Howard Fuller, Mr. Larry Little, Mr. Jarvis Hall and Dr. Charmaine McKissick Melton. Dr. Sandy Darity of the Sanford Public Policy Institute will serve as our moderator for the program.

Funding for this program is provided by the North Carolina Humanities Council and a host of private contributors. For more information call (919) 683-1709 or www.hayti.org.