"It is time for all honest men to band together to resist the ravages of greedy privilege." –John Dos Passos

You Are Invited to a Special Performance of

 

Speak Of Me As I Am

 

A Musical Tribute to Paul Robeson

A Musical, a Play, a History, An Experience Not to Miss

 

Starring

 

  KB SOLOMON as PAUL ROBESON

 

Saturday, June 13th, 8:00 PM

Doors Open at 7:00 PM ~ Drinks & Desserts Will Be Served

at

Frank, Jane & Emily Dorrel’s

3967 Shedd Terrace, Culver City 90232

 

Tickets $20  

$10 for Students or Others Short on Funds

 

For Reservations Call: 310-838-8131 or Email: fdorrel@addictedtowar.com

 

“This is a Fantastic Historical Musical. KB Solomon is Paul Robeson! 

I Loved it in Every Way!” ~ Frank Dorrel

 

Written & Produced by KB Solomon & Krys Howard - www.kbsolomon.com

 

This stirring tribute to Paul Robeson, a real American hero, brings to light his political stand and reflects upon the heavy price he paid. The 1 hour 45 minute show features twenty-one patriotic, popular and spiritual songs.

KB Solomon brings to life the spirit, sound and music of Paul Robeson.

 

 

Here is a Review of ‘Speak of Me As I Am‘ by Ed Rampell 

*LOS ANGELES JOURNAL*

——————————

 

Old Man Robeson Keeps Rolling Along

 

This year has been a year of progressive biopics, bringing Che Guevara, Harvey Milk and Richard Nixon back to life on the screen (lauding the first two, reviling the latter). Add to this distinguished company Speak Of Me As I Am, a leftist bio-play starring the stirring K.B. Solomon in an inspiring one-man show about Paul Robeson that is perfect for the holiday season.

 

The son of a slave, Robeson was a Renaissance Man, an all-star athlete at Rutgers who earned a law degree and went on to become an actor (his most famous role was as a character of the Renaissance, Othello, from whom the play’s title is taken), singer and probably most importantly, a pro-Communist black militant who stood up to "whitey," be he a Southern racist or German fascist.

 

The first act of Speak of Me As I Am tells much of Robeson’s story through film clips, songs performed live accompanied by a pianist and cellist and most of all by Solomon’s commanding presence. We see how Robeson went from all-American to "un-American," the star of stage, screen and concert hall’s annual salary of $100,000 reduced to $2,000 per year when he was black listed during the HUAC-McCarthy era.

 

Accused of being a Communist, Robeson was denied the right to perform at home, and his passport was seized by the State Department, preventing the internationally acclaimed celebrity from accepting the numerous gigs he was offered abroad. Although the play doesn’t mention it, one of Robeson’s greatest "crimes" was declaring during the Cold War that African Americans wouldn’t fight for the USA against the Soviet Union, about 20 years before another black activist, Muhammad Ali, refused to serve in Vietnam because no Viet Cong had ever called him the N-word.

 

Robeson died in the 1970s, and for today’s generation, the closest they’ll come to "meeting" this extraordinary man is through this show written and produced by Solomon and Krys Howard.

 

Solomon’s performance is a marvel not to be missed. The towering basso profundo opera singer has the icon’s stature, mannerisms and smile down, and his mellifluous voice is a delight that sometimes had the audience singing along to numbers such as "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night." Deftly cutting from the spoken to the sung word to tell Robeson’s saga, Solomon’s renditions of classics like "Porgy’s Plenty of Nothing," "The House I Live In," "Danny Boy" and but of course, Robeson’s signature tune, "Old Man River," shall have you tapping your tootsies and perhaps tearing up, as your inner self is transported heavenward. It’s almost as if this life force, which tirelessly stood up for the "little people" against injustice, has come back to life.

 

Indeed, this is the premise of Speak of Me As I Am.  Robeson returns from heaven (where Solomon wittily observes he can’t find J. Edgar Hoover or Joe McCarthy) to tell his story. In particular, Robeson seeks to redeem himself against charges that he was unpatriotic, insisting that he was a real American in the revolutionary tradition of 1776, fighting for truth, justice and the democratic way. The play glosses over Robeson’s relationship with the Communist Party and Soviet Union, which he was accused of being a stooge for. Indeed, during a visit to the USSR Robeson did confront the Stalinists over the imprisonment of an artist or intellectual, whom I believe was Jewish.

 

This incident is powerful ammunition against those who denigrate Robeson as a Stalin apologist, and could be incorporated into Act II. In this much shorter second act, which seems to be a work in progress, the modern day Robeson comments on today’s recession and the election of America’s first black president.

 

I called Speak of Me As I Am a one-man show, but in fact the play makes clever use of an enchained black mannequin onstage, so that at times it almost feels like a cast of two. Photos of famous radicals and infamous reactionaries, from Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglas and John Brown to Hoover, McCarthy and Harry Truman, also decorate the set and are also put to good use.

 

Speak of Me As I Am joins the illustrious company of Che, Milk and Frost/Nixon, as well as the play Marx in Soho by people’s historian Howard Zinn as a work of art that brings great personalities and issues vividly back to life. This is one of the greatest things art can do. By the end of Speak of Me As I Am you, too, will feel Robeson and Solomon have got the whole wide world in their hands. Don’t miss this life affirming theatrical experience, which will be performed from time to time in 2009 as Solomon and Howard seek to bring Robeson’s thrilling story to a theater near you.

 

 

 

 

Symposium and 6th National Convention of the

Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism

http://www.cc-ds.org/Symposium_and_CCDS_Natl_Conv.html

July 23rd - July 26th, 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Capitalism in Crisis:

Socialism for the 21st Century

A Symposium Sponsored by the Committees of Correspondence Education Fund, Inc.

 

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Whitcomb Hotel • 1231 Market Street • San Francisco, CA

 

1:00 PM: Building the Progressive Majority in the Age of Obama

Jack O’Dell, historic figure of the civil rights movement in the South, will present a “Democracy Charter”

followed by a panel of movement activists including Michael Eisenscher, National Organizer, US Labor

Against the War; Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation; Steve Williams,

Co-Director, People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER); Frank Martin del Campo, President,

San Francisco Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); Bill Fletcher, Jr., Executive Editor,

Black Commentator

 

4:00 PM: Conversation on the Left: Building the Left & the Progressive Majority

This panel is a roundtable discussion moderated by Committees of Correspondence for Democracy

and Socialism (CCDS) Co-Chairs James Campbell and Mark Solomon. Roundtable participants:

Mildred Williamson of CCDS, Jamala Rogers of Freedom Road Socialist Organization; Linda Burnham,

independent political activist; Michael Rubin of Solidarity, and leading representatives of the Communist

Party USA and Democratic Socialists of America (speakers TBA.)

 

7:30 PM: Building Socialism in the 21st Century – An International Evening

An evening of internationalism will feature Helmut Scholz, Executive Committee of the Party of the

European Left and head of the International Department of the Die Linke (The Left) Party of Germany;

Marcos Garcia, Second Secretary for Labor Affairs for the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of

Venezuela; Chris Matlhako, Secretary for International Relations and member of the Political Bureau of

the South African Communist Party, and a representative from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

(speaker TBA).

 

REGISTRATION AND HOUSING INFORMATION

REGISTRATION – Registration is $50 for all 4 days from Thursday, July 23 – Sunday, July 26, 2009, and includes the Symposium sponsored by the Committees of Correspondence Education Fund, Inc. The daily fee is $20. For low income, youth, and students, it is $5 per day. Registration and detailed information is available on-line at www.cc-ds.org  or email to national@cc-ds.org  or call (415) 863-6637 or (212) 868-3733.

 

HOUSING – Reserve a room at the Whitcomb Hotel, 1231 Market Street, San Francisco at the special group rate of $99 per night, plus tax, for either a single or double occupancy room, $119 for triple occupancy, and $139 for quadruple occupancy. Please indicate the names of roommates, or whether you wish to be assigned roommates. Hotel check-in time is 3:00 PM and check-out is 12:00 PM. The group rate is available for three days before the Symposium on July 23rd, and three days after the conclusion of the convention on July 26th. To make your reservation, call (800) 227-4747 and identify yourself as a Committees of Correspondence symposium and convention attendee. The hotel will hold rooms at the special conference rate until June 23, 2009. Reservation requests received after June 23, 2009 will be on a space available basis at the prevailing rates.

 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE – A limited amount of funds will be available for people who could not otherwise afford to attend the convention. Please contact us about scholarship applications.

 

CHILD CARE – Those requesting on-site childcare must let us know the number of children and ages by June 30.

 

GETTING THERE – If you are flying into either San Francisco or Oakland airports, there are connections to the BART public transit system and the hotel is located at the Civic Center Station. On the hotel’s website, you also can reserve a pick-up by Lorrie’s Airport Service from San Francisco airport for $15 per person. If driving, take the Civic Center exit from Highway 101 North or Highway 80 West, head north on 9th Street and turn right on Market Street. Valet parking is available in the hotel’s secured parking lot ($28.00 per day permit allows for unlimited access), or there is a convenient public parking lot just across

the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Building the Progressive Majority

and a Socialist Future

6th National Convention of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy & Socialism (CCDS)

 

Friday, July 24 to Sunday, July 26, 2009

Whitcomb Hotel • 1231 Market Street • San Francisco, CA

The 3-day CCDS convention will feature plenary discussion and workshops on strategies

for building the progressive majority, CCDS, left unity, and a socialist future

 

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2009

CCDS Goals and Principles: For a Democratic and Socialist Future – presentation & discussion

Building the Progressive Majority: Class, Race and Gender – panel & discussion

Workshops: The Peace Movement in a Time of Economic Crisis

Rebuilding and Reenergizing the Labor Movement

The Crisis of Climate Change

Youth and Student Organizing

Building Socialist Education

Reception and Tribute to Charlene Mitchell sponsored by the Kendra Alexander Foundation

 

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2009

An International Breakfast –with honored guests from South Africa, Venezuela, Germany, France, and Vietnam

Workshops: International Solidarity

Working Class Culture and Movement Building

Organizing the South: Key to Winning

Building the Progressive Majority and the 2010 Elections

Economic and Social Justice

Defending Constitutional, Civil and Human Rights

Discussion and Adoption of the Goals and Principles: For a Democratic and Socialist Future

Convention Resolutions: Peace and Justice Agenda, Plan of Action

Balloting for Election of National Co-Chairs and National Coordinating Committee

Evening of Solidarity with Vietnam: This special event will feature an honored guest from Vietnam, a

film of the CCDS 2009 friendship tour of Vietnam, and a firsthand report by Judge Claudia Morcom who

presided at the May 18, 2009 International Peoples’ Tribunal of Conscience in Support of the Vietnamese

Victims of Agent Orange in Paris, France

 

SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2009

Election Results, Voting on Amendments to By-Laws, Convention Resolutions –

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

 

CCDS National Office

545 Eighth Avenue Room 1420

New York, NY 10018

Ph: (212) 868-3733 Fx: (212) 868-3334

Email: national@cc-ds.org

 

CCDS West Coast Office

522 Valencia Street #1

San Francisco, CA 94110

Ph: (415) 863-6637 Fx: (415) 863-5543

Email: karl@cc-ds.org

http://www.cc-ds.org/Symposium_and_CCDS_Natl_Conv.html

CIA MIND CONTROL: Out Of Darkness Into The Light

Speaking Out Against Torture and Mind Control

Friday June 5^th ~ 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

At the Hollywood United Methodist Church

6817 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood (at Highland Ave.)

Featuring

Cathy O’Brien & Mark Phillips ~ Government Whistleblowers

Colin A. Ross, M.D. ~ Trauma Recovery Expert  

Roseanne Barr ~ Actress, Activist & KPFK Radio Host

For more info call 805-653-1588 or purchase discounted pre-sale tickets by clicking here.