Community Calendar: 9/15/11-9/21/11 (36386)

Greetings! As we close out African Liberation Month, we give a fond farewell of appreciation to the late, brilliant scholar-educator-author Dr. Barbara Adams and Pan-African activist, educator and cultural impresario the late Baba Jitu Weusi (see COMMUNITY). Both have joined the ancestors after a job well done for our people.

We also begin Black Music Month 2013 with special memories of another ancestor, “The Godfather of Black Radio,” Hal B. Jackson, whose life we celebrate after his passing one year ago.

Theater

  • Coming: NBT Founder’s Day and the fifth annual Teer Spirit Awards, Tuesday, June 18, celebrating leaders in the Harlem community. Located at 2013 National Black Theatre Way (Fifth Avenue) in Harlem. For more information, visit www.nationalblacktheatre.com
  • “Motown: The Musical,” based on a book by Berry Gordy Jr. and directed by Charles Randolph Wright, is playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 205 W. 46th St. (between Eighth Avenue and Broadway). For group sales, call 212-339-6262 or 800-432-7780. Regular tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com and at www.MotownTheMusical.com.
  • “The Trip to Bountiful,” the acclaimed teleplay and Broadway stage play, directed by Michael Wilson and featuring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Tony nominees Vanessa Williams and Condola Rashad and three-time Emmy Award winner Cicely Tyson, returns. The Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St. For more information or tickets, call 800-901-4092 or visit www.newyorkcitytheatre.com.
  • “Kinky Boots” is now at the Al Hirschfield Theatre, 302 W. 45th St. For more information, call 866-276-4887 or visit www.broadway.com/shows/kinky-boots.
  • “An Evening with Whoopi Goldberg,” Thursday, June 6 at 8 p.m. Goldberg returns to NJPAC’s Prudential Hall, Newark, N.J., for an evening of standup comedy, followed by a provocative, entertaining Q-and-A with the audience. This performance may contain adult language and content. NJPAC is at 1 Center St. in Newark and accessible by mass transit. Safe and secure parking, also available just steps from the door. For more information, call 888-GO-NJPAC (888-466-5722) or visit njpac.org.
  • “Sing Harlem Sing” presents its last performance on June 8 at 2 p.m. at the Dempsey Theater, 27 W. 127th St. (between Lenox and Seventh avenues). For more information, call 212-280-1045

Music

  • B.B. King Blues Club & Grill presents Mint Condition, Tuesday, June 4 at 237 W. 42nd St. Call 800-282-8485 or visit www.bbkingsblues.com for more information.
  • NYCB Theatre at Westbury presents the O’Jays, Morris Day and the Time on Saturday, June 8. Visit www.ticketmaster.com for more information and tickets.
  • BRIC hosts “Celebrate Brooklyn” at the Prospect Park Bandshell. There will be a free opening night concert with Betty Griffin on Wednesday, June 5 at 8 p.m. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (for kids) will perform on Saturday, June 8 at 4 p.m. with Wynton Marsalis. For more information, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.
  • The seventh annual MAFRIKA Music Festival, Sunday, June 9 from 12-7 p.m., at Marcus Garvey Park,120th Street and Fifth Avenue in Harlem. Free. Go to www.mafrica.com for more information.
  • A special benefit concert for the induction of Chaka Khan into the Apollo Hall of Fame takes place Monday, June 10 at 7 p.m., with appearances and performances by Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Holliday and Alexandra Burke. Hosted by Wayne Brady. For more information and tickets, call 800-745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.
  • A Father’s Day weekend celebration featuring Ramsey Lewis and the Electric Band will take place Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m. The jazz master will perform at Aaron Davis Hall for the first time, performing classics and new works from his latest CD, “Taking Another Look.” Aaron Davis Hall is located at West 135th Street and Convent Avenue on the campus of the City College of New York. Call 212-650-6900 or visit www.adhatccny.org.
  • “Kings of the Mic Tour”: LL Cool J with Ice Cube, Public Enemy and De La Soul, Tuesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. This performance may contain adult language and content. NJPAC is located at 1 Center St. in Newark and is easily accessible by mass transit. Safe and secure parking also available steps from the door. For more info, call 888-GO-NJPAC (888-466-5722) or visit njpac.org.

Community

  • The Brooklyn Parent Center, a program of Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, operated by a majority of people with disabilities for people with disabilities, will present Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes as guest speaker at the Library Learning Center at LIU, Friday, May 31. Parents, grandparents and caregivers of children with disabilities ages 3 to 21 will have an opportunity to access resources and information.
  • The all-day conference includes workshops, continental breakfast, lunch with live music, exhibitors, a resource guide and free raffle prizes. The keynote address will be delivered by Jaclyn Okin Barney Esq., a disability rights attorney and coordinator of Parents for Inclusive Education.
  • Admission to the conference, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is free, but pre-registration is required. To register, visit www.brooklynparentcenter4.eventbrite.com or call 718-998-3000.
  • The Apollo Theater’s “Harlem Healthy Soul Festival,” a daylong free event focusing on family health and wellness, takes place Saturday, June 1 beginning at noon, transforming 126th Street (behind the Apollo) into a block party filled with health advice, educational resources, music, entertainment, celebrity performances and family fun for the community. WBLS’s Dr. Bob Lee serves as the host of the festival. Free health screenings will be provided by Emblem Health, Manhattan’s Physician Group and a diverse group of Harlem community partners. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.
  • A celebration of life for beloved activist, educator and cultural entrepreneur Baba Jitu Weusi takes place June 1 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Boys & Girls High School, 1700 Fulton St., Brooklyn. Refreshments will be served. Viewing will take place Monday, June 3, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Brown Memorial Ch urch, 485 Washington Ave., Brooklyn. Funeral services follow from 10 a.m. to noon at the same location.
  • The African Jazz Street Festival will take place Monday, June 3 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Claver Place/For My Sweet, 1101 Fulton Place, Brooklyn.
  • Hear Imhotep Gary Byrd on 107.5 WBLS-FM daily with “Imhotep’s On-Air Guide to Black Events” and “Express Yourself,” Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., and on WLIB-AM with “The GBE Mind Flight,” Sunday evenings from 9 p.m. to midnight. The full show can be heard on HD radio at WBLS-HD2. IGB can also be heard on WBAI-FM 99.5 with Radio GBE: The”Global Black Experience” and “Global Beat Experience,” Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. We are archived online with both shows at www.wbai.org. To contact us for bookings or to reach us about your event, email igbexp@gmail.com, find Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at GBELIFE or call 212-592-3279.