Reggae Music News

Alicia Keys and Audra McDonald to perform at New York memorial for actress Ruby Dee

By Mark Kennedy

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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NEW YORK _ A memorial for actress and civil rights activist Ruby Dee will feature music by Alicia Keys and Audra McDonald, reflections by former Mayor David Dinkins and Sonia Sanchez, and a eulogy by Harry Belafonte.

The Terrie Williams Agency said Thursday that the celebration of Lee’s life will be held at the Riverside Church in New York on Sept. 20. Dee died June 11 at 91.

Dee’s poetry and prose will be read by Angela Bassett, Tyne Daly, Kim Fields, S. Epatha Merkerson, Phylicia Rashad, Pauletta Washington and Lynn Whitfield. Musical tributes will be performed by Keys, McDonald, Wynton Marsalis and Peter Yarrow.

Dee’s long career earned her an Emmy, a Grammy, two Screen Actors Guild awards, the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Art and an Oscar nomination.

Alwin Marshall-Squire

Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora. Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.

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