ST. PETERSBURG, FL – It was billed as “A night with Malcolm, Martin and Marcus and it was the inaugural event of the Akwaaba Hall Cultural Center. And, what an inauguration!
On the evenings of July 11 and 12th four wonderful artists brought to life three of the most important historical figures in modern African struggle before a standing room only crowd on the 12th.
Directed by Ron Bob-Semple, an acclaimed actor in his own right, the play, The Meeting, written by Jeff Stetson, was first on the bill.
The actors, Federico Gordon Jr., playing Malcolm X; John Thomas, playing his body guard, Rashad and Josh Gosh as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., mesmerized the crowd by bringing King and Malcolm X to life for a mostly-African audience that never had an occasion to see either of them in life.
The evening was completed by Ron Bob-Semple’s iconic portrayal of Marcus Garvey, founder and leader of the magnificent anti-imperialist precursor of the African People’s Socialist Party, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).
The success of the evening was not only measurable by the applause and obvious appreciation of the Akwaaba Hall audience, but also by all the other examples of support for the plan to transform Akwaaba Hall into a cultural center that will be able to develop and nurture talent from among the African working class.
Uhuru Foods and Pies products, made available at the intermission, along with other movement merchandise were eagerly purchased by the evenings’ attendees and one brother, a producer, director and artist from Pittsburg, donated eight theater lights to help with the fledging Akwaaba Hall Cultural Center.
The Evening with Martin, Malcolm and Marcus was also made possible by Producer, Ona Zene Yeshitela; Assistant Producer, Tammy Harris; Graphic Designer Charles Oliver; Keith Arsenaualt of Hillsborough Community College and Karla Hartley, artistic director of Stageworks Theatre.
