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NEWSAC^c CJatlone 3^o«2
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Funding proposed for U.S. slavery museum
By Jesse Muhammad
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -
A budget amendment pro
posed by Gov. Timothy M.
Kaine includes $250,000 for
theU.S. Slavery Museum.
.The proposed spending
must still be approved by the
House of Delegates and
SCTiate before it’s added to the
budget.
The Kaine administration
received a letter from the
museum’s executive director,
Vonita Foster, requesting
financial support for the slav
ery museum but not specify
ing a dollar amoimt.
Richmond Mayor . L.
Douglas Wilder, one of the
museum’s chief proponents,
has lavmched a campaign to
• raise $100 million toward the
Fredericksburg museum’s
$200 TniHion cost.
Entertainer Bill Cosby has
already committed at least $1
million to the efibrt.
Kaine’s proposed spending
amendment is consistent
with funding proposed for 37
other state musexims and cul
tural attractions. The svuns
ranged from $100,000 to
$500,000. In aH, the governor
Budgeted .$7.5 million for
such programs.
The slavery museum and
other attractions fall under
the category of "non-state
agencies” - things that are not
the state’s responsibility; but
which wind up getting state
support.
Sen. John Chichester, R-
Northumberland and chair
man of the Senate Finance
Committee, said when he
reviews die governor’s bud
get amendments during the
upcoming legislative session,
he’ll view this as "just anoth
er non-state agency”
“Two-himdred-fifty-thou-
sand is a httie bh heavy, but
it’s not imprecedented,”
Chichester told The Free
Lance-Star of
Fredericksburg.
Earher this year, museum
officials said cash and pledges
toward the project total about
$50 million, half of what is
needed to construct the
290,000-square-foot muse
um. The $100 million sought
by the fund drive would be its
endowment- The museum
reported $938,186 in gifts,
grants and contributions dur
ing fiscal year 2005, the
Fredericksburg paper report
ed. That is nearly 10 times
the sum fix)m the previous
year.
The museum, which is
being designed by architect
Chien Chimg Pei, will be
built on 38 acres on a hill
overlooking the
Rappahannock River.
Plans for the museum call
for a • full-size replica of a
slave ship, 10 permanent gal
leries, a 450-seat amphithe
ater, two libraries, a lecture
haH, several classrooms and
. an outdoor garden featuring
sculptures, commemorative
walls and tobacco and cotton
crops.
The museum has already
collected between 5,000 and
6,000 slavery-related arti
facts, including furniture,
documents, shacldes and col
lars.
On the Net:
U.S. National Slaver/
Museum, www.usnafional-
slaveryrnuseum.org
Music built around the ‘Godfather’
Continued from page 1A
Soul music owes him as
much, too. Brawn emerged
fium The Famous Flames as
lead singei- in the mid ‘50s
and' turned the genre on its
ear. His wild dance moves
and untamed vocal style left
audiences breathless. His sig
nature move of dropping to
his knees, being covered with
a cape and flinging the cape
to the floor as he tore into
another set was later mimic
ked by lots of artists in trib
ute and jest.
Brown’s 1956 hit “Please,
Please, Please” was a No.l
R&B smash that looked to
make the Flames a house
hold name, but nine subse
quent singles failed. He
regained h^ footing in the
‘60s with “Live At The
Apollo,” a live LP which he
nearly had to beg his record
label to release. It crested at
No.2 on the pop chart, giving
that audience a taste of what
soul fans already feasted.
“Papa’s Gfot A Brand New
Bag” earned him his fir-st of
• three Grammys and changed
the rhythm of his hits.
Brawn was funkier and lean
er. He even got political with
“Say It Loud - I’m Black And
I’m Proud” and socially con
scious with “Don’t Be A
Dropout.”
The early to mid ‘70s wer'e
Brown’s most productive
year's. His kinetic ftmk was a
staple on Don Comehus’
“Soul Ti-ain” and Dick Clar'k’s
“American Bandstand.” His
blaxploitation sormdtracks
included “Black Caesar” and
“Slaughter’s Big Rip Off” He
wrote and produced a stiir^
of hits for band members
Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley
and Lynn CoUins.
Brown’s own hits were sim
ple but unforgettable. “Hot
Pants,” “Make It Funky”
“The Big Payback” and “Get
On The Good Foot” were rev
elations in funk. These sorrgs
influenced the hkes of the
Rolling Stones, Sly & The
Family Stone and even the
stage show of a very yoimg
Michael Jackson.
Brawn also influenced the
Tfemptations, Prince, King
Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and
even jazz great Miles Davis.
The ‘80s showed fall, rise
and faU of Br-own. His record-
ii^s were becoming a shell of
his earlier work. In stepped
the Blues Brothers - Dan
Akroyd and John Belushi.
Brown appeared in the
“Blues Br'others” film as a
pr'eacher. He sang the life out
of “The Old Landmai'k” and
caught America’s attention
again. He had a hit with
Afrika Bambaata on “Unity”
a sort of ‘ol school meets new
school thing. He had a bi^er
hit in 1985 with “Living In
America” fium “Rocky IIL”
Ironically it was a disco hit -
the genre that killed his
career in the mid to late ‘70s-
He won his second Grammy
with that recording.
Brown’s legal troubles
began to moimt in tlie ‘80s
and his career never recov-
ei'ed. But that’s of Httie signif
icance. Brown may have
become the butt of jokes but
his body of work stands taller
• than his stack of legal woes.
Brown’s influence on pop,
R&B and hip-hop is more sig
nificant than any artist of the
last 50 years. He’s already
missed.
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New Year’s celebration
Continued from page 1A
is B5, a pop gi'oup out of Atlanta spanning in ages 10 to 17. The
bratliei's ai'e sparking excitement among teens who are excited
to see the gi'oup peifoi'm.
‘Maybe I can meet one of them,” said 15-yeai'-old Ineisha
Callaway of Charlotte. ‘Especially the oldest one [Dustin].”
Ineisha says slie wasn’t awai'e of the celebration because hei'
mother had gi-own weaiy of New Years celebrations uptown
a'ime in tlie past yern-s.
“I think it’s something tliat’s good and pi'oductive, doing some
thing dm'ing the daytime is good and positive,” said Callaway’s
mothei' Phyllis Callaway ‘Tai-ents can feel at ease without aU of
the ainie.”
CCCP Senior Wee President of Events Robert Itiaunbiue says
he has received six to eiglit calls a day about B5 fiom families as
far away as Kansas. He says Noon Yeai'’s is expected upwai'ds of
5,000 people.
“This is oiu' oppoitimity to get kids involved in what is consid-
ei-ed si\ adult hoHday, and to expeiience Center City in a non-
thieatening way”’ said Ki'imibine.
FamUies wfll also have tlie oppoi'tunity to paiticipate in inter
active games, I'eceive aiitogi-aphs fiom theii' favorite performers
and coxmtdowii the New Yeai' at the end of the event.
Uptown construction will eliminate fireworks this year, says
Quinn. Tlxe lamich site was originally at Foimdei'’s Hall, but due
to rebuilditig of tlie haU, tlie faU zone is not suitable. The faU
zone needs to be low enoii^i to stop fiieworks fiom landing on
bystanders.
“Tlie liigher you go, the more diffiailt the fall zone,” said
Qiiiim.
Not only wiU thei-e not be fireworks, but the Chai'lotte crown
wfll not be lowei'ed diuing the New Yeai'’s coimtdown because
thei'e isn’t, a suitable place to hang tlie crawn.
Because Centei' City Partnei's it is focusing all of thdj- atten
tion on Noon Years instead of oi'ganized parties or fii'eworks,
they wfll send uptown visitors to restam'ants and bars for
evening New Yeai''s celebratioiis.
For a hst of night events, visit www.chai'lottecenterdtyoi^ or
www.hohdaysbitliecityorg