An Evening With The HistoryMakers: Tenth Anniversary Gala was an hour-long, live-to-tape program that celebrated The HistoryMakers’ first decade of groundbreaking work. The evening was themed COMMIT: Telling America’s Stories…Celebrating Our Future. In attendance were over 150 HistoryMakers from across the country including The Honorable Eric Holder; ninety-eight year old civil rights pioneer Amelia Boynton Robinson; Little Rock Nine members Ernie Green and Carlotta Walls LaNier; founder of the Trumpet Awards Xernona Clayton; and the Jazz Lady, Geraldine de Haas. This historic program, co-produced by The HistoryMakers Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson, and Tony Award-winning producer and choreographer, George Faison, featured performances by Dionne Warwick, Nikki Giovanni and Melba Moore as well as appearances by Denyce Graves, Reverend Al Sharpton, Gwen Ifill, Cathy Hughes, Roland Martin, and Susan Taylor.
Taped at The Art Institute of Chicago’s Rubloff Auditorium, An Evening With The HistoryMakers documented the story of the archive from beginning to present day. With the use of performances, speeches and archival video and photos, An Evening With The HistoryMakers recounted the organization’s history as only it knows how. Featured celebrities of past An Evening With… programs like Nikki Giovanni, Denyce Graves, Cathy Hughes, Gwen Ifill and Dionne Warwick shared their experiences with The HistoryMakers while supporters Roland Martin, Melba Moore, Reverend Al Sharpton, Kephra Burns and Susan Taylor talked about the importance of the archive.
The Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
United States