*Los Angeles -The alumni of the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center (LAICCC) 50th Anniversary Planning Committee will present “Out of the Ashes: From Multiculturalism and Diversity to Inclusion 1967-2017” on November 4-5, 2017, at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Boulevard in Mid-City Los Angeles, CA 90008.
A black-tie gala will take place on Saturday, November 4, 2017, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Center’s 1967 inaugural season, consisting of award presentations; performances; announcements on the launch of a new book, and documentary film; while an envisioning panel and the official launch of the LAICCC CBJ Memorial Library will take place on Sunday, November 5, 2017.
The 1967 inaugural season launched the Inner City Cultural Center’s Langston Hughes Memorial Library and its position as the “original genesis,” i.e. the “O.G.” – an advocate for multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion in the theater, film and television industries. Conceived in 1965 as the Inner City Cultural Center (ICCC), co-founders C. Bernard Jackson, a UCLA Dance Department rehearsal pianist, and neuro-psychiatrist Dr. J Alfred Cannon, connected with Academy Award winning actor Gregory Peck, then a board member of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Council on the Arts. With Mr. Peck’s help, Inner City became a part of the Educational Theater Laboratory Project introducing, annually, 35,000 LAUSD students and additional audiences to live classical and professional theater with its philosophy of non-traditional and color-blind casting. The first play of that inaugural season, Tartuffe, included future Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr., and Academy Award nominee Paul Winfield; plus, a diverse and inclusive group of actors such as Bonnie Bedelia (Die Hard) and Roscoe Lee Browne.
Also included among the artists, supporters and contributors were such luminaries as the late Robert Wise, Milton Berle, Eddie & Margo Albert, Budd Schulberg, and others including Marlo Thomas, Sidney Poitier, Mako, Luis Valdez, Alvin Ailey, Beah Richards, Twyla Thorpe, Denzel Washington, Carmen Zapata, Marla Gibbs, Pat Morita, George C. Wolfe, Bella Lewitzky, Ernie Hudson, George Takei, Glynn Turman, Art Evans, Soon Tek Oh, Ted Lange, Ruth Warshawsky, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Nobu McCarthy, Janet Jackson, June Kim, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Pat Morita, Bonnie Bedelia, Ted Lange, Donald McKayle, and Arthur Mitchell, among others, who were instrumental in advancing the mission of the Inner City Cultural Center.
Saturday, November 4, 2017
The program will include oral history interviews of LAICCC alumni which will be used with other archival material to publish the 2nd edition of the original book, “Out of the Ashes” and a planned documentary film of the same title. Eventually, all the archival material will be housed in the envisioned LAICCC C. Bernard Jackson Memorial Library. The interviews continue with a Diversity Panel discussion regarding issues related to diversity and inclusion in the stage, screen, and television industries.
The evening Gala Awards program begins at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception followed by the black-tie optional awards presentations and a post-show gala reception.
The awards presentation will consist of two award categories. The first category includes three intrinsic LAICCC awards – the C. Bernard Jackson Legacy Award; the Elaine Gayle Kashiki-Josie Dotson Award, and the Inner City Essence Award; plus, Special Recognition Awards to those in the local and national arts and theater community.
Secondly, the LAICCC Diversity & Inclusion Recognition Awards, or the D&I Awards, will be presented to those in theater, film and television who have made strides in the areas of diversity and inclusion. Special recognition will also be made to others who impacted these industries.
The Actors Equity Association will accept a Special Recognition Diversity & Inclusion Award, George Takei of Star Trek fame accepted the 2016 Inner City Essence Award, while Cecilia Peck, accepted the Elaine Gayle-Kashiki/Josie Dotson Award, on behalf of her father, the late Gregory Peck. This year’s award recipients will be announced Monday, September 24, 2017.
The Gala Awards Night will highlight the 1967 inaugural season by acknowledging and recognizing the efforts of those who continue to make contributions to diversity and inclusion as the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center looks to the future with a new book, a documentary film, and the launch of a historical cultural center library project.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
On Sunday, November 5, 2017, an envisioning panel discussion will focus on plans to establish a library in honor of Mr. Jackson and archiving his collected works with those of Inner City alumni and others in the Los Angeles community. This will mark the official launch of a campaign to develop and build the library. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the Langston Hughes Memorial Library, which Mr. Jackson began in 1967 to increase cultural intercommunication.
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source:
Sydney Chandler
[email protected]
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