Recalling roots

One of the highlights of the second New Mexico Black History Month Festival is the musical cabaret “Roots Revival.”

The title of the cabaret comes in part from a quote from Marcus Garvey, the famous Jamaican-American, back-to-Africa advocate in the first part of the 20th century.

Cathryn McGill, the founder-director of the festival’s organizing committee, quoted Garvey as having said, “A people who lack knowledge of their past history, origin and culture are like a tree without roots.”

Garvey, who also was a journalist, entrepreneur and an orator, promoted the idea of black Americans returning to their ancestral lands in West Africa and pushing out European colonial powers.

“Roots Revival” will have a morning school time performance Feb. 7 and a Feb. 8 evening performance, both in Popejoy Hall.

“So the goal of this performance is to talk about our roots, our traditions, our ancestors, where we came from,” McGill said.

“We want to be able to fill the gap of the missing parts of our history for a lot of people. … How many people know what the ‘Middle Passage’ was?”

She doubts that many know it refers to the enslaved blacks who were packed inside ships and taken from Africa to the New World.

“Roots Revival,” an original production that premiered at last year’s festival, presents a set of stories woven together with song, dance and spoken word that chronicles the history of African Americans. One of the speakers is the character of a West African griot who teaches history and tradition to a group of children on stage.

These are some of the participants in the production:

♦ Rujeko Dumbutshena, a former Albuquerque dancer-choreographer who lives in New York City, is returning to dance in the “Motherland” portion of the cabaret, McGill said.

♦ Five dancers from New York who were in “Fela,” a Broadway production about the life and music of the late West African performer Fela Kuti. Kuti was a Nigerian musician, composer and singer who pioneered Afrobeat.

♦ Albuquerque singer Michael Herndon is singing Cab Calloway’s signature song “Minnie the Moocher” in a portrayal of the popular mid-20th-century bandleader.

♦ Albuquerque poet laureate Hakim Bellamy portrays a preacher in the slavery portion of the show and also will portray Gil Scott-Heron, a jazz musician and poet known for his rapping style.

♦ Zenobia Conkerite is doing a piece popularized by the black vaudeville duo Butterbeans & Susie. They were a comedy act but also sang the blues.

♦ Gene Corbin is singing “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” which McGill described as a “map song” in the slavery era that was a standard in the post-World War II folk music revival. The song title is code to instruct blacks how to follow the Big Dipper to travel North to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

♦ Dancer-choreographer Gabi Rojas is performing an aerial piece about the lynching of blacks.

“The reason we’re doing this is to educate, but also to talk about the fact that African American history is American history,” McGill said.

“Even in the face of this adversity there was humor, resolve … in these pivotal periods in our history.”

McGill wrote the opening song of the cabaret, “That’s the Way We Do Our Thang!”

She said another significant point about “Roots Revival” is that it is being staged in Popejoy Hall. It’s the first time that a local African American company is producing a show on the Popejoy stage, McGill said.

“What we can demonstrate to our young people is that anything is possible for them. They can do a show on the Popejoy stage, on Broadway. The sky’s the limit,” she said.

The event-filled festival, which has a kickoff brunch on Saturday, Jan. 26, and concludes Feb. 24 with New Mexico’s Gospel Best competition, has a larger purpose.

“It brings together organizations in the African American community and builds our community from the inside out,” McGill said. “And we’re sharing with the larger population about who we are and why we are here, where we’re going and how to get there together.”

The festival, she added, also is about multiculturalism because the events are not just for blacks.

“Everyone will find these events educational and will want to come back for more,” McGill said.

The festival chair is Shawna Brown. For more information visit www.nmblackhistorymonth.com.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. Feb. 8 performance of “Roots Revival” are $22.50 for reserved seats, and are available in advance at ticket offices in the UNM Bookstore and the Pit, by calling 925-5858, by visiting www.unmtickets.com, at select area Albertsons supermarkets or at the door. Popejoy Hall is in the UNM Center for the Arts.

To find out about ticket availability for the 9:30 a.m. Feb. 7 school time performance of “Roots Revival” in Popejoy, call 407-6784.

This is a list of the other events under the umbrella of the second New Mexico Black History Month Festival:

♦ Kickoff Brunch. 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 in the UNM SUB Ballroom. Hill Harper, an activist, author and cast member of the TV show “CSI New York,” is the keynote speaker. He will talk about the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Tickets are $30 and are available at unmtickets.com or by calling 277-5644.

♦ Harlem Globetrotters, 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at Santa Ana Star Center, 3001 Civic Center, Rio Rancho. Tickets range from $18-$70 at www.santaanastarcenter.com.

♦ PMES Talent Show, 7 p.m. Feb. 2 in the UNM SUB Ballroom. PMES stands for Powerful Movement of Educated Sisters. For tickets and more information call 277-5645.

♦ Prof. Michael Dyson of Georgetown University will give a talk at 11 a.m. Feb. 8 in the state Capitol as part of African American Day at the state Legislature in Santa Fe.

♦ Drop off of entries between 10 a.m. and noon on Feb. 9 for the second annual Griffin’s Best Sweet Potato Pie Contest. The drop off is at the Ralph J. Bunche Academy, 230 Truman NE. Entries will be judged that same day but the winners will be announced at the Feb. 15 Cotton Club Gala.

♦ “Nurtured in New Mexico,” 10 a.m. Feb 12 at the Town of Bernalillo Library. An ensemble of African American storytellers talk about African Americans who were either born or nurtured in New Mexico. Free but anyone interested in attending should contact Maria Rinaldi by calling 867-3311.

♦ Cotton Club Refined Gala, 8 p.m. Feb. 15 in the Brazos Ballroom, east side, Albuquerque Convention Center. The headliner is multi-platinum recording artist CeCe Peniston, whose signature dance single is “Finally.” Tickets are $25, which includes dinner and entertainment. For tickets visit nmblackhistorymonth.com.

♦ A national touring production of the musical “Dreamgirls” at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at Popejoy Hall. (The festival is promoting this performance but there are five other Popejoy shows from Feb. 14-17.)

♦ CommUnity Throwdown, 9 p.m. Feb. 16 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 201 Marquette NW. The event, which is free, includes a deejay, card games and dominoes.

♦ WorkItOut Day, 9 a.m.-2:15 p.m. on the lower level, west side of the Albuquerque Convention Center. With its focus on health, the event will have Ernestine Shepherd, who at 75, is the oldest living female body-building champion; 11-year-old C.J. Senter, who travels the country to combat childhood obesity; and Pastor Michael Minor of Hernando, Miss. Minor banned fried chicken from his church and is a “health ambassador” for Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative promoting healthy living. Minor also encourages his parishioners to walk a mile in his church parking lot before or after services. Senter and Shepherd will lead group workouts. There also will be a panel discussion with health providers in the African American community. Free.

♦ New Mexico’s Gospel Best competition, 3:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Hiland Theater, 4804 E. Central. Gospel singers and choirs are invited to sign up for the competition at www.nmblackhistorymonth.com. Free. (Auditions are from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 at the Metropolitan Temple Church of God in Christ, 1120 2nd NW.)