Juneteenth 2016, A Freedom Celebration – The Symposium

Elegba Folklore Society presents Juneteenth 2016, A Freedom Celebration in Richmond, Virginia, June 17 – 18. The theme, Here I Stand, invites a consideration of the legacy of history in the present and its influence on shaping the future.

This two-part event features The Symposium on Friday, June 17 in Rhythm Hall at Dominion Arts Center (formerly Richmond CenterStage), 600 E. Grace Street. Doors open at 6:30p. Tickets are $15 for one and $25 for two, general admission. Tickets for students, 12 -18, are $10 and children under 12 are admitted free of charge.

On Saturday, June 18, In Reflection happens beginning at 5:00p at the Manchester Dock and along the Trail of Enslaved Africans. Admission is free.

Dick Gregory, legendary comedian, civil rights activist and natural health enthusiast whose social satire influences America’s thinking, will

keynote The Symposium. Elegba Folklore Society’s performers will also appear. There will be art making, and the Freedom Market will be open all night.

Mr. Gregory will appear in Richmond just a few weeks after the Off-Broadway opening of the biographical, Turn Me Loose. This new comedic drama is about the 60’s comic genius Dick Gregory, the first Black stand-up to make white audiences laugh at the absurdity of bigotry. Gretchen Law wrote and John Legend with Mike Jackson produce, in association with Get Lifted Film Company. According to Gregory’s website, the play reveals how the overwhelming power of activism enticed Gregory from one of the most successful show business careers of the postwar era into a life of sacrifice and danger alongside Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and other Civil Rights leaders. Wielding razor-sharp wit Gregory hacked away at myths about race, poverty, war and politics. In a recent interview President Obama called Dick Gregory one of his two favorite comics ever. The other was Richard Pryor who himself said, “Dick Gregory was the greatest and he was the first.” Gregory is still championing the same messages today, at age 83. He is a last living champion from a remarkable period of struggle for dignity and freedom. Joe Morton, Emmy winning Scandal star, portrays Mr. Gregory.

A theatre-goer reflected, “We need Dick Gregory more than ever!”

Elegba Folklore Society invites all those who appreciate Dick Gregory’s commentary along with a new generation who will discover, says the site, “one of the most prophetic, committed, authentic, confrontational — and hysterically funny — public figures of our time.”