President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative & Black Voices at AfroSolo's 20th Anniversary

SAN FRANCISCO - Sept. 19, 2014 - PRLog -- San Francisco Supervisor London Breed was on hand for the September 5^th media briefing that launched the 20^th Anniversary of AfroSolo, housed at the African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC), where Breed was Executive Director for ten years prior to becoming Supervisor for District 5.  Breed acknowledged AfroSolo founder and Artistic Director Thomas Robert Simpson for his instrumental role in bringing the AAACC to the forefront of art and culture in San Francisco.

“Thomas has done an incredible job with making art accessible to everyone in the community in a tangible and transformative way,” said Breed.  “And it was truly a pleasure working with him at the AAACC.  Now as Supervisor for the district, it is my honor to pay tribute to his work and the talent of those that have gathered for a celebration of 20 years of service to the community through art and culture.”

The20^th Anniversary of AfroSolowill consist of the Black Voices Performance Series: and Project Empowerment: The Audacity to succeed.   “It is an honor for me to serve the community with my passion for the arts and bring together talent like Stephanie, Lance and Kurt,” said Thomas Robert Simpson, Founder and Artistic Director of AfroSolo.  “ To have support of Supervisor London Breed and so many others, affirms the value of the arts and its power to bring healing and transformation to a community.  Thank you to all the performers and the old and new supporters of AfroSolo, with your continued support, we look forward to celebrating 20 more years.”

Stephanie Anne Johnson, cancer survivor and visual arts & lighting designer, Lance Burton, founder of Planet Fillmore Communications, Tarika Lewis, first female in the Black Panther Party, and Kurt (DJ Lamont) Young, KPOO programmer & founder of Fingersnaps Media Arts will present the “Black Voices” Performance Series of the anniversary.  Johnson’s Every Twenty Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me, chronicles her courageous, often with humor, battle with cancer to physical well being and is the first of the Black Voices to be heard tonight, following the 7- 8 p.m. Gala celebration during Program A of the series.

Program B of Black Voices Performance Series, Our Stories, Our Lives gets underway Saturday, September 20th with Lance Burton and his The Irrelevance of Being Relevant, a black man’s experience from Little Rock, Arkansas’ occupation by the 101^st Airborne to Haight Asbury San Francisco to surfing the media and technology wave; Tarika Lewis’ My Life as a Black Panther and Kurt (DJ Lamont) Young’s If God Wanted Me to Fly, a story of family legacy and how a pair of his grandfather’s dress shoes helped him “keep a steppin” through worldwide travel and life.

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.  The one-day three-part conference will be held Saturday September 27, 2014. The conference and all performances will be held at the African American Art and Culture Complex.

AfroSolo has a twenty-year history of bringing the arts alive with the incredible talent of emerging and established Black entertainers, thinkers, and activists.  Recognizing that the Arts brings healing by causing people to think, take action and change because of what they hear and see, this year’s anniversary is dedicated to giving voice to empowerment through performance and overall community engagement. For more information visit www.afrosolo.org.

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ABOUT AFRO SOLO

AfroSolo's mission is to nurture, promote, and present African American and African Diasporan art and culture through solo performances and the visual and literary arts. Since 1993, we have provided a forum to give an authentic voice to the diverse experiences of Black people. Through art, we bring people of all ethnicities together to explore and share the human spirit that binds us all. www.afrosolo.org.

Note to Reporters/Editors: To arrange interviews at any point during the AfroSolo Festival, contact media consultant, Jackie Wright at 415 525 0410 or AfroSolo Festival Founder and Artistic Director, Thomas Robert Simpson at 415 771 2376.