Event includes performances by local celbrities Rob C and SweetEven

Cleveland State University’s Howard A. Mims African American Cultural Center’s annual pre-Kwanza celebration, the Kuumba Arts Festival, will pay tribute to a variety of Cleveland-born or raised artists who have gained national recognition for their creativity and community contributions.

The event will be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, December 9 in the Main Classroom Auditorium on the CSU Campus, and is in partnership with the Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers.

The evening will feature dramatic presentations of scenes that are associated with the careers of Ruby Dee, Dorothy Dandridge, Halle Berry, and Terrence Howard. A special presentation will also acknowledge individuals like Antwone Fisher, who advanced to the silver screen the story of his search for his natural family and experience with the US Navy. Ronnie B from the Black Studies Hip Hop Workshop will serve as the M.C. and utilize his comedy background to acknowledge Steve Harvey, Arsenio Hall, Kim Whitley, John Henton, and Lawanda Page as well as honor the memory and legacy of Robert Guillaume.

In addition, Rob C, along with local talent Andrea Coleman, Mariama Whyte, Erica Young, Bertha Lee Pickett, and Sharon McPherson Foxx, will unite with the group SweetEven to commemorate the recording careers of Gerald LeVert, The O’Jays, and Tracy Chapman. A variety of other Cleveland celebrities will also be acknowledged throughout the event in the company of surprise guests and some of the honorees’ family and friends.

Additionally, Kevin “Chill” Heard, a staff reporter with the Call & Post Newspaper, will be honored as the recipient of the Silver B Award, including a special performance by family-friendly rap group Maliphresh.

The event is free and open to the public with first-come, first-served seating arrangements. For more information contact Prester Pickett, M.F.A., coordinator of the Howard A. Mims African American Cultural Center at (216) 687-3655, by email at blackstudies@csuohio.edu, or visit www.csuohio.edu/class/black-studies.