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First Blacks Chicago
Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
free and open to the public
Hear the ground-breaking world premiere of music honoring the legacies of three black Chicago trailblazers: Chicago’s Haitian founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable; Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington; and the first black president, Barack Obama! The program includes the epic world premiere performances of music commissioned by Crossing Borders Music for the event, including the reflective “Nostalgia” by Rudy Perrault, honoring DuSable; the incredible excitement of Gi Frants’ “Fraternitas! Fraternitas! Dei Patris Nomine,” a musical tribute to Washington; and the elegance and beauty of Sabrina C D Jean Louis’ “La Cité,” a tribute to the legacy of DuSable. Hear too Perrault’s “Brother Malcolm” as he imagines, through music, a conversation between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King on the eve of the inauguration of Obama.
The event is free and open to the public.
First Blacks Chicago is a collaboration between Crossing Borders Music and the Haitian American Museum of Chicago-HAMOC.
The event is generously supported by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency
This program is partially supported by a grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.