What are Civil Rights? Who is Lena Horne?

Sept. 17, 2012 - PRLog -- When children and young adults hear that Lena Horne was quite the Civil Rights activist, most respond with “Who was Lena Horne?” and “What are Civil Rights?”  At 8:30 am on Friday, September 21, 2012, elementary school students at Community Partnership School in North Philadelphia will get a good taste of both from Audelco award-winning actress Wendi Joy Franklin of New York City, who wrote "A Song For You...Lena: The Civil Rights Story of Lena Horne."  Ms. Franklin will visit Community Partnership School, housed in Project H.O.M.E.’s Honickman Learning Center at 1936 Judson Street, to give pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade students a preview of her performance, then hold class discussions to ensure children understand the sacrifices made of Lena Horne and others during the Civil Rights era. Students will be able to discover new insights on this critical period in history.

Ms. Franklin will perform the full dramatic tribute with music on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 7:30pm at Germantown Academy’s Performing Arts Center in Fort Washington to raise scholarship funds for Community Partnership School.  Ms. Franklin, portraying Lena Horne, takes the audience on a journey, revealing Horne's inner struggles for self-identity and racial equality from her early childhood experiences with the "Jim Crow" laws of the rural south in the 1920's, to her triumphant stand at the March on Washington in 1963 as a civil rights activist.  "Ms. Franklin's rendering of her subject is uncanny, her voice and mannerisms are remarkably suggestive" says The New York Times.  The show was presented at the 2011 and 2003 Larry Leon Hamlin’s National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which received raved reviews and standing ovations.

Tickets are still available for 7:30 Performance for $60.  VIP Tickets for $100 include 6pm reception.  Sponsorships still available.  For reservations and information, contact:  Carol Hill, Director of Development at 215-235-0461 or email c.hill@communitypartnershipschool.org.

Veteran stage, television, screen actress and educator, Ms. Ruby Dee and Philadelphia philanthropists Walter and Beverly Lomax of the Lomax Family Foundation will serve as Honorary Chairs, along with Event Chairs Mary Ammon and Kezirah Vaughters.  NBC10 Anchor Dawn Timmeney will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies for the event.