Local performers will highlight African-American tunes at Stillman
Posted Apr 27, 2019 at 12:51 AM
From jazz to rap, from blues to gospel, from reggae to rhythm and blues, African-American artists have excelled in performing and writing the music heard around the world.
On Saturday, Stillman College will host a celebration featuring a host of local performers during “400 Years of African-American Music.” The celebration will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday at Birthright Auditorium on the Stillman campus, 3601 Stillman Blvd. Admission is free with the donation of one canned food item. Donated items will help stock the Stillman College students’ pantry and the West Alabama Food Bank.
Thomas Davis Jr., who in 2016 won a national singing competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, will be among the performers Saturday night. The Stillman graduate and Tuscaloosa native earned the title during the Apollo Theater competition with his rendition of Sam Cooke’s civil rights anthem “A Change is Gonna Come.”
The Westlawn Middle School Concert Choir will also perform and the celebration will feature a revue of Motown hits by TL and the Headlinerz.
Other performers include Hayward Rashaad and R. Hicks Band, the choir of Weeping Mary Baptist Church, Robin Tiggs, the Rev. LaShuan Hilton, the Rev. Camisha Shabazz, Maggie Lee, Lenny Buffer, Lanecha Turner, Hattie O’Neil, Cleveland Foster Sr., the Mount Carmel CME Male Choir, Diva Hall, DJ William (Jizzle Mane), the Jerusalem AME Zion Church choir and pianist Henderson Huggins.
The celebration was organized by Jerusalem AME Zion Church and the Stillman College African-American Heritage Bicentennial Committee.
This year, Jerusalem AME Zion Church has been commemorating the 400-year mark since black slaves were brought to North America. In 1619, 20 slaves from Africa were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, on a Dutch ship.
The Stillman College African-American Heritage Bicentennial Committee has been involved in celebrating 200 years of Tuscaloosa’s history. The city was founded Dec. 13, 1819.
400 Years of African American Music
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: Birthright Auditorium at Stillman College, 3601 Stillman Blvd.
Admission: Free with the donation of one canned food item
