Under the baobab: Remembering friends, colleagues who made an impact
A couple of friends and colleagues were among those who joined the ancestors recently.
Writer, teacher, dramatist Cliff Young was one of the first people I met when I came to State College in the ‘90s. We had a lot in common: theatre, academics, Fulbright Fellows in Africa. Cliff had gone to Ethiopia; I was to go to South Africa. He wrote a play about his experience; I directed it. Because it was about an uprising in Ethiopia I had to bring some Black actors in from New York.
“Dice of Bone” was produced by Mary Skees, his former wife, and Jay Schucter. It was the first original play I directed at Penn State. It was also the first production Next Stage Theatre Company mounted. We staged it in the old Paul Robeson Center run by Larry Young (no relation), a rehabbed World War II office building over near the Eisenhower Auditorium. Cliff was talented, much admired and will be sorely missed.
People know Malcolm-Jamal Warner from his playing Theo, Bill Cosby’s only son on the Cosby Show. The ground-breaking comedy was the most popular TV show for five years straight. I met him when he played my mentor’s adopted son in the film “The Father Clements Story.” The film also starred the Academy Award-winning actor Lou Gossett.
I was the organizer of the New York City opening, which was showcased as a fundraiser for the rebuilding of Chicago’s Holy Angels Church. It had been devastated by a fire. After the Cosby show I would run into Malcolm at the annual National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, N.C. He taught an acting and poetry workshop. Some of our Penn State grad acting students were fortunate to attend his class. Malcolm was only 54, when he accidentally drowned off the coast of Costa Rica this week. His impact on the African-American community was immeasurable.
Around town
Last Thursday, Wingfest on Tussey Mountain had nearly 3,000 happy customers munching on a quarter million wings from five vendors and jamming to OK Otter and The Ten Band, a Pearl Jam cover band. Next Thursday there will be one more fest before the final wing competition the following week. Between shows, our local minor league baseball team the State College Spikes showed up to throw souvenir T-shirts to the crowd. The team, winners of the first half of the season, will be hosting the 2025 MLB Draft League Championship Game on Sept. 4 at Medlar Field.
The resistance continues. The Centre County Democratic Committee held its annual golf tournament and summer picnic at Mountain View Country Club. Candidates for retention on the Pa. Supreme Court were invited to present their “cases” to a packed hall. Justice Christine Donohue, Justice Kevin Dougherty and Centre County Court of Common Pleas Judge Katie Oliver spoke. In addition to the usual elected local officials some old friends like former Mayor Elizabeth Gorman and former council member Peter Morris were in attendance. Speakers emphasized the importance of voting, particularly locally, in our Democracy to help to determine our collective political reality. We are the people. Centre County municipal elections will be Nov. 4. Last day to register is Oct. 20.
CCDC Chairperson Margie Swoboda announced that the committee will sponsor a bus to the DEI Rally in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 30. It will cost $50 for the whole day. For further info, contact the committee at centrecountydems.com. The Thompson Tuesdays rally also continues 5 p.m. every Tuesday in front of the Bellefonte office of U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard.
Light a candle for Peace continues in front of the Allen Street Gates on Monday from 5-5:30 p.m. A couple of hundred citizens gathered at Allen Street Gates to celebrate John Lewis. Through struggle find joy and stay in “good trouble”. We are not alone.