PR2012 Oct 10

Contact:

Adam Miller

(205) 391‐2925 / amiller@sheltonstate.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. REALIZING THE DREAM SERIES TO HOST

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE ARTIST REANAE MCNEAL ON OCTOBER 19

October 10, 2012 (TUSCALOOSA, AL) – The Martin Luther King, Jr. Realizing the Dream Series will host

internationally known performer and cultural activist Reanae McNeal for a performance of her one‐woman

show, The Jazz Singing Women, on Friday, October 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bean‐Brown Theatre at Shelton

State Community College, 9500 Old Greensboro Road.

McNeal is an award‐winning international performing artist, inspirational speaker, acclaimed vocalist, oral

historian, visual artist, storyteller, performing art poet, and cultural activist. She has toured extensively

throughout the United States, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Bermuda, Barbados, and Canada. McNeal is the recipient

of numerous national and international awards including the NAACP Image Award, the Woman of

Achievement Award, the Women of A Stolen Legacy Award, the Peace Project Award, and the Black Treasure

Award. For more about McNeal visit www.rmcneal.com.

McNeal developed “The Jazz Singing Women” in response to the 2012 theme of the Realizing the Dream

Series, which was inspired by Dr. King’s foreword to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival. This unique work will

combine both lecture and performance, and audience members will learn about the lives of female African‐

American jazz singers, experience their music, and discover the lasting effect that their work has made on the

field of jazz performance.

The purpose of the MLK series — a partnership between The University of Alabama, Shelton State Community

College, and Stillman College — is to preserve the memory and promote the ideals of Dr. King. Each year, the

series hosts a variety of events, including the Legacy Awards Banquet, the memorial concert, a performing arts

event and a series of lectures. More information about the series is available at realizingthedream.ua.edu.

Tickets are free, but seating is limited. To reserve tickets, call Theatre Tuscaloosa at 205.391.2277.

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