[2 articles]
Annual Malcolm X Festival to feature 'Wigger' premiere
http://media.www.unogateway.com/media/storage/paper968/news/2010/04/16/News/Annual.Malcolm.X.Festival.To.Feature.wigger.Premiere-3907732.shtml
Joanna LeFlore
Issue date: 4/16/10
The UNO Black Studies Department will host the annual Malcolm X
Festival and Conference from April 18 through April 20. The
conference will feature speakers, motivational workshops, live
entertainment and international scholars.
The department hopes to get as many volunteers as possible to help
with greeting guests and directing people to workshops. The
conference is free and open to the public.
Black Studies Department Chair Omowale Akintunde has high
expectations for this year's conference, especially regarding
attendance. Akintunde said he expects at least 1,000 people to turn out.
The premiere of the film "Wigger" is anticipated to fill 600 seats in
a sold out theater at Great Escape on April 19 at 7 p.m. The red
carpet will be rolled out an hour before the screening, with tickets
set at $10.
"Wigger" is an independently produced film that was recorded in
various parts of Omaha. Directed by Akintunde, the film follows the
conference's theme about Black masculinity, starring Anna Maria
Horsford, Meshach Taylor and David Oakes.
Akintunde said the overall goal of the conference is not only to
reach academics but more importantly, people in the Omaha community.
"We are bringing intellectual expansion, the opportunity for debate
and enlightenment," he said. "We want to bring solutions and
paradigms for change."
Another highly stressed event expecting great attendance is a private
concert by Reggie Calloway, a former band member of Midnight Star. A
Grammy nominated artist, songwriter and producer, he is the founder
of Calloway Records and has worked with artists Gladys Knight,
Natalie Cole and Gerald LeVert.
The banquet and concert will be held on April 18 at 6 p.m. at the UNO
Thompson Alumni Center. The night will feature dinner and a concert
by the university.
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Malcolm X Festival lures guests
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100416/NEWS02/704169888
April 16, 2010
Widely known figures from the entertainment and literary world will
be among the speakers at this year's Malcolm X Festival and Conference.
The festival, sponsored and organized by the University of Nebraska
at Omaha Department of Black Studies, will run Sunday through Tuesday
on the UNO campus.
Political activist Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925,
in Omaha. He was assassinated Feb. 21, 1965, in New York City at age 39.
A 6 p.m. Sunday dinner at UNO's Thompson Alumni Center will kick off
the festival. Reggie Callaway of the R&B group Midnight Star will
perform. Tickets are $40. RSVP by Friday at 554-2412.
Producer and writer Kevin Arkadie, known for his work on "Soul Food"
and "CSI," will give a presentation at 4 p.m. Tuesday. His workshop
will be in the Milo Bail Student Center.
Poet and playwright Rommi Smith, who is the Parliamentary Writer in
Residence for the United Kingdom, will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the
Thompson Alumni Center.
The Arkadie presentation and Smith's keynote address are free and
open to the public.
Omowale Akintunde, head of the UNO Department of Black Studies,
produced the film "Wigger." It will be shown for the first time at 6
p.m. Monday at Great Escape Theatre, 7440 Crown Point Ave. Tickets are $10.
"Wigger" was shot last year in and around north Omaha. Akintunde
directed the production. The film stars Anna Maria Horsford, Meshach
Taylor and David Oakes. All three stars will be at the premiere. More
information on festival presenters is available at
http://www.unomaha.edu/blst/ or call 554-2412.
.
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