This weekend's AfroSolo performances, September 26, 27, 28:
Every Twenty Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me-Stephanie Anne Johnson:
Friday, September 26 8 p.m. & Sunday, September 28 3 p.m.
Purchase Tickets/Program A
If God Wanted Me To Fly-Kurt (DJ Lamont) Young,
The Irrelevance of Being Relevant-Lance Burton &
My Life As A Black Panther-Tarika Lewis:
Saturday, September 27 8:00 pm & Sunday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Purchase Tickets/Program B--
Project Empowerment: The Audacity to Succeed
Saturday, September 27 12 noon-6 pm
FREE
Register in Advance (info@afrosolo.org with name, age and contact info)
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.
A few shots of AfroSolo's opening weekend---
AfroSolo's first weekend of performances can be summed up in the words Health, Heart & History.... From Stephanie Anne Johnson, an examination of her overcoming cancer in Every Twenty Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me, to Kurt (DJ Lamont)Young's If God Wanted Me To Fly, an intimate look at triumph and continuation of life as an elder passes and he wrestles with talking about his sexual orientation, to Lance Burton's swan song to San Francisco in the The Irrelevance of Being Relevantand Tarika Lewis, illumination of the humanity of the panther movement in My Life As A Black Panther curated a 20th Anniversary show that is enlightening and entertaining.
The history alone of San Francisco and Oakland that is in Burton's and Lewis' pieces is weighty, eye-opening and inspirational in that they express, if greatness in the Black community has happened, it can happen again. The question came up over and over, "Who knew?" Afro Solo's 20th Anniversary gives us no excuse for not knowing. In the intimacy of the stories of the lives of those who walk among us, we see history, heart, and health as no book or Internet page can convey. Don't miss the upcoming shows. It may be the last time you get to see Lance Burton for a long while as he's soon hatting off to Hot Springs, Arkansas for more fertile ground. San Francisco's African American Out Migration Committee has missed out on another great Black talent.