What's Going On!

Victoria Horsford

BLACKS ON THE GREAT WHITE WAY

I know that two muses Playwright August Wilson and Nigerian Afro beat musician Fela - who are euphoric about their works, which were cited for multiple 2010 Tony nominations for excellence in theatre. The nominations represent a sweep for both the revival drama, FENCES, the musical FELA! and the never-ending evolution of the Black esthetic. FENCES garnered Best lead actor and actress (Denzel Washington and Viola Davis respectively) nominations; Best featured actor for Stephen McKinley Henderson; Best Revival; and Best Play Direction for Kenny Leon, and music, costumes, et.al. FELA! garnered Best musical, Best direction of a musical and Best choreography for Bill T. Jones; Best lead actor in a musical for Sahr Ngaujah; best featured actress in a musical for Lilias White. And the list goes on! Congrats to “Race’s” David Alan Grier, nominee for his best featured actor in a play. What a great year for Blacks on the Great White Way!

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

According to an April Culvert Chronicles cover story, some Tea Party lunatics recently convened a meeting, attended by about 20-odd people, in Harlem…Reverend Al Sharpton is en route to Arizona to stir some protest noise about the state’s recent anti-immigration law, which makes it is a criminal offense to walk its streets without immigration papers…. Talk about politics and strange bedfellows, NYS Governor David Paterson sides with Andrew Cuomo, re: disgraced former NYS governor Eliot Spitzer’s diatribes against Coumo and his inability to govern……Brooklyn NYS Senator Kevin Parker again dominates local headlines when he accused Senate Republicans of being “white supremacists” for their line of questioning towards Mark O’Luck, an African American, whom Governor Paterson nominated to the NY Power Authority. Republican senators want Parker censured……NJ Governor Cristie did not re-appoint African American Judge, John Wallace, 68, to the 7-Member Supreme Court, the state’s highest. Before pointing an accusatory finger at the Gov, remember one of his earliest appointments was Black woman Paula Dow, as NJ Attorney General, after he was sworn in this year.………The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that could move Puerto Rico to statehood. This bill has stirred friction among some Latino congressmen. While Bronx representative Jose Serrano supports the bill, representatives Nydia Valazquez and Charlie Rangel, whose dad was Puerto Rican, oppose it.

AROUND TOWN

May is National Mental Health month, an observation dating back to 1949. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) has designated, Saturday, May 8 as its national Walk For the Cure date. For information about NAMI Walks itineraries in your city, visit. Nami.org or call 800.950.Nami. Or send a donation to NAMI-NYC Metro, 505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1103, NYC 10018.

New Yorker, Doug Pugh, 86, son of Jamaican parents, died last week in Florida. A Labor official, Pugh was the quintessential public servant, serving two NYS governors, Hugh Carey and Mario Coumo, he was the chairman of the NYS Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, served as senior manager of the NYS Labor Department and was the director of the State Dormitory Authority. Pugh was second in com mand at Haryou-Act during the Livingston Win ga te era; was Com mi ssioner of the Fede ral Mediation and Conciliation Service and did a 3- year stint at the Ford Foundation. Doug also worked in his dad’s candy store.He earned a Columbia University MBA in 1957 but Corporate America was far from a meritocracy at that time. He is survived by his wife Clementine, two children, Janet and Douglas, his brother Robert, and a grandson.

GALAS AND CULTURE

The Abyssinian Fund, foun ded by Abyssinia Bap tist Church, presents MA KUSH, an exhibition/sale and celebration of Ethiopian Art on May 8- 9, at the Paley Center For Media at 25 West 52 Street, Manhattan. On May 8, the exhibition VIP reception will held from 6-9 pm.

On May 9, a panel discussion, “The Contemporary Art of Ethiopia,” begins at 1 pm. Event poster art “Lady Of Masked Flowers,” is an impressionist confection, by Abreham Abebe. For info, call 212. 862.7474.

THROUGH THE NIGHT, a one-man drama written and performed by Obie Award winner Daniel Beaty, directed by Charles Randolph Wright, opens at the Riverside Theatre at 91 Claremont Avenue and 120 Street, Manhattan, on May 8 and runs thru May 23. Beaty portrays six African American men, ages 1 to 60, who discover their power through one extraordinary event. Beaty delivers a tour de force performance and lends insights into this community of men, revealing what it means to be Black and a man in America. THROUGH THE NIGHT is produced by the Riverside Theatre, Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group and Walk Tall Girl Productions. Call Ms. Cooke at 212.926.2550 for reservations. Visit danielbeaty.com/wordpress for excerpts.

The New York Urban League (NYUL) hosts its 45th Annual Frederick Douglass Awards Dinner on May, May 10 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel located at 1 Time Warner Center, on Broadway at 60 Street, Manhattan. The three 2010 NYUL Dinner honorees are Susan Patricof, who will be the recipient of the Anne Kheel Award and the Frederick Douglass Medallion Awardees are Scott Mills, BET Networks President and COO and Sullivan & Cromwell, who led the Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies for Young Black Men Initiative.

A black tie event, The NYUL Awards Gala begins with a reception at 6:30 pm followed an hour later by the formal dinner and program. Proceeds from the $1,000 ticket subscription benefit and impact the lives of tens of thousands of NY residents in under-served communities. Gala Co-Chairs are Betty Ellen Berlamino; Gideon King, Loeb Partners CEO and Portfolio Manager; Debra Lee, BET Networks Chairman/CEO; William M. Lewis, Jr., Lazard Co-Chairman of Investment Banking; Basil Paterson, Esquire, Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein partner; Ronald Perelman, Chairman/CEO MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc.; Marva Smalls, EVP MTV Networks; and actress Lynn Whitfield. Sherri Shepard of THE VIEW is event host; and vocalist Stephanie Mills will provide entertainment. For reservations, call Nick Masciotti at 212.997.0100.

NYUL President Arva Rice, came aboard a year ago, coincidental with the launch of its 90th Anniversary. She recommends regular visits to the website nyul.org for updates on some of her new education partnerships and women’s empowerment initiatives.