 Mt. Vernon, NY - On Wednesday, November 28, 2007, Ilyasah Shabazz (3rd daughter of the late Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz), the City of Mount Vernon Department of Recreation and Mount Vernon High School’s Principal Stephen Jackson will present The WAKE-UP Tour™, Shabazz’ exclusive program for empowering the City’s youth.
Shabazz, and Recreation’s Commissioner Karen Watts will convene a panel of esteemed leaders in business, politics, education, and the arts to prepare young people to accept leadership roles in their communities. The forum will be held at the Mount Vernon High School Auditorium, 100 California Road, Mount Vernon NY 10552, from 11:30 a.m. through 2:45 p.m.
Shabazz, who will moderate the forum, commented that, "We will utilize The WAKE-UP Tour™ to convene a panel of inspirational leaders to share their stories of overcoming life circumstances to ultimately build character and a willingness to give back." She continues, "One returning panelist is Jiwe Morris, a gang leader who is now an author and community activist also battling with Depression. Eisa Ulen, the author of Crystelle Mourning (Simon & Schuster Books) teaches English at Hunter College in New York City, and is a freelance journalist for publications as Essence Magazine and The Washington Post. Natasha Smith is a Mount Vernon High School senior who volunteers for many community serviced programs; and Motivational Speaker Dennis Rahiim Watson, Chairman of The National Youth and Gang Violence Task Force, and President/CEO of The National Black Youth Leadership Council, whom is said to be by critics and audiences, a cross between Jessie Jackson, Bill Cosby, and Les Brown; along with WAKE-UP Tour new-comer, City of Mount Vernon Police Detective Jennifer Carpenter. We appreciate the sacrifices of all of our panelists to come and support our Mayor's Youth Empowerment Agenda.”
Past panelists include: BET’s 106 & Park and NBC correspondent for entertainment news, ‘Extra’, AJ Calloway; renowned Historian Professor James Small; Def Jam on Broadway Producer/Actor/Activist Suheir Hammad; Tony Award Winning Best Actress in a Musical for her role as ‘Celie’ in Oprah Winfrey's "The Color Purple" on Broadway, LaChanze; Incest Survivor & Author of She Only Looks Like It Ain’t Hurtin’, Solliah Bryant; former NBA Legend Charles Smith; BET & CNN Correspondent/Producer Jeff Johnson; PR Guru & Best-Selling Author Terrie Williams; HBO’s The Wire, Actor Jamie Hector, and WNBA New York Liberty Legend, Kym Hampton, among other greats.
There will also be a special musical performance by the Mount Vernon based group, Collective Flow. “The group’s Hip-Hop, R&B, Spoken Word, conscious-raising lyrics and intense, roof-raising performances landed them at the Emergenza World Music Festival where they placed second in this tough worldwide competition. Collective Flow’s impressive style has gotten them performances at ‘popping’ New York City venues such as the legendary Showtime at The Apollo Theater (twice televised), The Bitter End, and the popular Knitting Factory, as well as at leading east coast outdoor events such as concerts in Waterbury, Ct., African Family Day in Mount Vernon’s Memorial Field, Mount Vernon’s Arts On Third Street Festival, Africa Heritage Day in Yonkers – ‘I Father Show’, Universal Hip Hop Parade in Brooklyn, NY, and Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles – where over 30,000 fans cheered them on - this event featured Doug E. Fresh & Friends in Concert. Collective Flow is currently planning to tour Germany in concert. They have an exciting new CD out entitled, ‘Collective Flow’. The group is comprised of very talented artists; Lady Holly, Ria Sade, T. Hayes – El, TRE-DEE, 4 RON, and S.O.A.Q.” – Mount Vernon Inquirer
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