South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center and delancyhill Law Firm Present 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration

MIAMI – South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) celebrates Black History Month with a presentation of the Langston Hughes Project, Ask Your Mama, Twelve Moods for Jazz on Thursday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. on the main stage.

The performance features the Ron McCurdy Quartet with celebrity spoken word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner.

As part of this special evening, delancyhill law firm will host their 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration with a VIP reception honoring Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss at 6:00 p.m. in the Black Box Studio. Proceeds from the VIP Reception will benefit SMDCAC’s education and outreach programs.

Malcolm Jamal-Warner
Tickets to the performance are $30, $20, $10 ($5 tickets CultureShockmiami.com), $5 off orchestra level seats for students seniors and active military service members. Tickets to the VIP reception are $50 and includes entrance to the performance. The public should contact SMDCAC’s Box Office at 786-573-5300 or visit www.smdcac.org. SMDCAC is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

Ron McCurdy
The Ron McCurdy Quartet performs Langston Hughes’ insightful, wise, poignant, funny and soulful, poem accompanied by celebrity spoken word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner, most famous for his role on “The Cosby Show” and his recent sitcom, “Reed Between the Lines”. The performance includes video images of the Harlem Renaissance by African-American artists and photographers including Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks and Romare Bearden.

Ask Your Mama is an 800-line, twelve part poetic suite written by noted African American poet/writer/playwright Langston Hughes in 1961. This work is described as a multimedia presentation that recreates Hughes’ vision of the global struggle for freedom in the coming, turbulent decade.

The piece itself is an original work conceived by USC Professor and Chair of Jazz Studies Dr. Ron McCurdy . A scholarly exploration of the original work by Dr. McCurdy revealed that Hughes had originally included musical cues to accompany his poem, intending to work with musical contemporaries on a full production; regrettably, Hughes died in 1967 before a production could be developed.

“I felt that the unrealized work had enormous potential, not only to entertain, but more importantly to introduce modern audiences to the power of Hughes’ words and the eloquence of his political discourse,” said McCurdy

A collaborative effort between McCurdy and film maker Damani Baker expanded on Hughes’ original concept, adding an accompanying jazz suite based on Hughes’ original notes, composed and arranged by McCurdy and Eli Brueggeman. McCurdy presents The Langston Hughes Project in both performances and master classes on the college circuit and for African American Heritage celebrations throughout the nation. Information about The Langston Hughes Project is available at: http://www.ronmccurdy.com/about_hudges_project.htm.

“As children of South Miami-Dade County, my law partner and I are proud to return home to our community where South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center shines as a jewel for our artistic soul and heritage. We are thankful for a community that gave us so much,” stated Marlon Hill, founding partner, delancyhill, P.A.

Atty. Marlon Hill

Sponsors and community partners of the 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration will include Bilmor with Advertising Specialties, Caribbean Today, Chef Irie Spice, Circle of One Marketing, Community Bank of Florida, Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay, Invizio, Medium Four, Richhaus Media, and South Florida Caribbean News.