Ooops,

Made a little mistake and made the first video too large so that it appears a bit fuzzy. This one should look better, I hope so. Anyhow, thanks for bearing with me.

Barbara arriving in Baltimore, backstage

Barbara has just arrived and is very "hungry." We are glad to see her and we are getting ready for the rehearsal.

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady in Baltimore

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady in Baltimore

On March 18, 2011, Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady were performed at the Coppin State University, James Weldon Johnson Theater in Baltimore. The performance was hosted by the Morning Star Baptist Church, one of the oldest churches in the region. The theater was nearly filled, with an audience of great diversity. One of the most exciting things for me was that a return to Baltimore was a return to my home town where I lived for three decades. Some of my relatives came out to see the play and a great number of friends. At least two contributors to the book also came. Joanne Gabbin came from Virginia and Janice Lovon Harris who contributed to the audio book was also in the audience. The most exciting thing about Joanne Gabbin was that a few days before we had a lengthy phone conversation and during that conversation we discovered that we had grown up around the corner from one another. Further, we discovered that her aunt, Mary James, had been my mother's (Margaret Brooks) best friend. We were thrilled to make this discovery. Joanne contacted her "Aunt Mae" and brought her to the play. It was a wonderful reunion. The audience loved the play and we were so excited to play before such a large audience. We took some photos and made a few videos which we will share with you online in several venues including Facebook, Twitter, the blog and our new webpage at www.uncrownedcommunitybuilders.com Another thing we tried which we had not tried before was to ask contributors to submit a video that we could use show on a big screen in the theater before the play began. Several people responded most begged off citing lack of knowledge of how to shoot a video for YouTube and then send it by email. This is something we can all work on together so that we can continue to stay in touch with the latest in technology. Anyhow, a wonderful time was had by all. Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch and giving us your support. I should also add that we heard from the First Lady in sort of a round about way. We had requested that she "skype" a message to the audience at the theater. After a long way, her scheduling office said that she would not be available but that she send her well wishes for success and she hopes we will continue our work in supporting the community. We are continuing to send messages about our efforts with this book. So, we will keep you posted with more info. Other inquiries have come in for the performance of the play and we are excited about this and we will keep you posted.

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady in Baltimore

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady is opening in Baltimore this Friday, March 18, 2011. The play will be performed at the James Weldon Johnson Theater at Coppin State University. Cast members are Peggy Brooks-Bertram, Barbara Seals Nevergold and international storyteller Karima amin. We are thrilled. The ticket sales are going great and we wish you could all join us. We are fortunate that some of the contributors to the book will be there and that will be great. We also sent out a call to contributors to provide a video clip of a message that we could use to greet the audience with. Some responded and that should be fun. Further, we finally heard from the White House. While Ms. Obama could not "skype" a message to us, her scheduling staff reported that she sends us well wishes and hope that we continue our work for our community and the country. Lord knows we have done all we know to get a response, so we will take what we can get at this time. Anyway, we are all stoked for the performance and wish you could be with us. We will be sure to take some videos so that we can put them on line. Also, I had the most wonderful experience today. Joanne Gabbin, a contributor and I talked at length today and the longer we talked the more it became evident that we had grow up together around the corner from one another. Her Aunt Mae was my mother's best girlfriend in all the world and lived directly across the street from me! That was so exciting. She will be coming to the play and will bring her Aunt Mae with her. I just cannot wait to see her again. Anyhow, that is enough for now. Love, Peggy