Tag Archives: Rev. Al Sharpton

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Take Part in Virtual Birthday Fundraiser for Harry Belafonte

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Lin-Manuel Miranda is helping celebrate a living legend…

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer, songwriter, rapper, composer, director, producer, author and playwright will honor Harry Belafonte, who will turn 94 years old on March 1, during a virtual birthday concert.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Miranda is among a cadre of friends and famous fans that will gather this Sunday for a virtual event that will feature performances, video tributes and testimonials by civil rights and racial justice leaders, politicians, artists, athletes and more. It will serve as a fundraiser for Belafonte’s Gathering for Justice organization and is sponsored in part by the Hope and Robert F. Smith family.

Belafonte founded the organization in 2005 after seeing a news story of a 5-year-old Black girl who was cuffed and arrested in her Florida classroom for “being unruly.” Since then, the organization’s mission is to build a movement to end child incarceration while working to eliminate racial inequities.

Titled The Gathering for Harry, the event will feature Common, Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, Chuck D, Bernie and Jane Sanders, Stacey Abrams, Aloe Blacc, Tamika D. Mallory, Rev. Al Sharpton, Jackie Cruz, Aja Monet, Mysonne the General, Diane Nash, Carmen Perez-Jordan, DJ Carisma, Bryan Stevenson, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Jackson, Tony Shalhoub and more.

As of February 23, event organizers announced that Jay-Z was confirmed to appear to accept a Gatekeeper of Truth Award. Also new to the list are Tiffany Haddish, Usher, Miranda, Charlamagne Tha God, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Susan Sarandon, Pete Buttigieg and others.

The virtual party will be held Sunday, February 28, at 7:00 pm ET.

More information about how to take part in the event can be found here.

Cristela Alonzo to Take Part in “America’s Changemakers” Event to Kick Off Five Nights of Presidential Inauguration Festivities

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Cristela Alonzo is preparing for a presidential presentation…

The Biden/Harris Presidential Inaugural Committee announced additional programming in advance of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on January 20, with the 42-year-old Mexican American comedian/actress taking part in the festivities.

Cristela Alonzo

The theme of the now five consecutive nights of events is “America United.”

On Saturday, January 16, Alonzo will take part in America United: An Inauguration Welcome Event Celebrating America’s Changemakers.

The event will “celebrate America, reflect and honor our history, and highlight the incredible diversity of the nation” and kick off the five days of programming.

In addition to Alonzo, the roster of participants includes Whoopi Goldberg, actor Nik Dodani, musician Darren Criss, Representative Grace Meng, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the Resistance Revival Choir will participate. The Welcome Event will feature a special performance by Adrian Quesada and his Grammy-nominated Black Pumas. It’ll stream live from 7:00-8:30 pm ET at bideninaugural.org and on Presidential Inaugural Committee social media pages.

Also announced is United We Serve: A Celebration of the National MLK Day of Service on Monday, January 18. According to the news release, thousands of volunteers across the country will participate in the National Day of Service, which will then be celebrated by entertainers and inspiring speakers like Aloe Blacc, Rev. Dr. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III, Chesca, Rep. Sharice Davids, Rosario Dawson, Andra Day, Yo-Yo Ma, Rev. Al Sharpton, Sean Patrick Thomas, Diane Warren, Lynn Whitfield and Bebe Winans. The event will stream live from 8:00-9:00 pm ET at bideninaugural.org and on the inaugural committee’s social media pages.

Other events include the Memorial and Nationwide Tribute to Remember and Honor the Lives Lost to Covid-19 on Tuesday the 19th. At 5:30 pm ET, a D.C. ceremony will feature a lighting around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The inaugural committee has invited cities and towns around the country to join in illuminating buildings and ringing church bells.

Inauguration Day events include President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris laying wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and the former First Ladies in attendance.

Tom Hanks will host the primetime Celebrating America special that will culminate the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Along with appearances from the 46th POTUS and 49th VPOTUS, the Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss-produced 90-minute show will feature “The Star-Spangled Banner” courtesy of Lady Gaga; a “musical performance” by Jennifer Lopez, the details of which were not disclosed; and performances from Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato, Ant Clemons and longtime Democrat supporter Jon Bon Jovi.

Celebrating America will air on multiple networks. Starting at 8:30 pm ET, the unity-aiming special will be carried by ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN. Additionally, the Weiss-directed show will be seen on Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW from Fox, and AT&T DIRECTV and U-verse, as well as the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s social media feeds.