Actor/Director Ossie Davis to Headline 11th Annual “Realizing the Dream” Event at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Distinguished actor, director, producer and writer Ossie Davis will highlight the 11th annual “Realizing the Dream” concert at The University of Alabama’s Moody Music Concert Hall on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Sponsored by UA in conjunction with Stillman College and Shelton State Community College, the event is a dramatic tribute honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Tickets, which will go on sale on Friday, Jan. 7, at the Moody Music Hall box office, will be $15 for the general public and $10 for students and senior citizens. Ticket information may also be obtained by calling 205/348-7111.

Davis has been seen most recently in the films “I’m Not Rappaport,” “Grumpy Old Men,” Spike Lee’s “Get On The Bus,” HBO’s “Mrs. Evers’ Boys,” “12 Angry Men” and “Dr. Doolittle” with Eddie Murphy. Davis was a regular on the television program “B.L. Stryker” and was also featured on CBS’s “Evening Shade,” starring Burt Reynolds. He received a Neil Simon Award as author of “For Us The Living,” the story of Medgar Evers, and an Emmy nomination for Daddy King in “King.” Additional credits include the CBS miniseries “Queen,” Alex Haley’s last screenplay, the miniseries “The Stand” by Stephen King and Disney’s “The Ernest Green Story.” Davis is the recipient of an impressive list of awards, citations and honorary degrees including induction into the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame in 1989.

Davis will be joined during the event by choirs from The University of Alabama, Stillman College and Shelton State Community College, and the UA Afro-American Choir as they present individual tributes to the life and legacy of one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders.

“We are very pleased that the annual ëRealizing the Dream’ concert continues in the year 2000,” said Dr. Bruce Murray, director of the UA School of Music and chair of the Realizing the Dream Committee. “Our guest, Ossie Davis, brings a rare dimension.

He is one of the most important and distinguished American actors, but he has also worked tirelessly throughout his career for the cause of civil rights. The concert is a true collaboration among Stillman College, Shelton State Community College and The University of Alabama, and will feature musical performers from all three campuses.”

The “Realizing the Dream” concert is now part of a much larger scale of events, including the Martin Luther King Distinguished Lecture Series, which is in its inaugural year of attracting well-known individuals to the Tuscaloosa community throughout the year to discuss the past and future of civil rights in America. The lecture series is also a joint effort between The University of Alabama, Stillman College and Shelton State Community College.

“We are especially pleased that the concert no longer stands alone on the calendar,” Murray said. “Now the spirit of ëRealizing the Dream’ continues throughout the year with the Martin Luther King Distinguished Lecture Series. We are happy to be able to associate our lecture series with the annual concert in order to offer a wider array of events recognizing the efforts made by Martin Luther King and those who carried on his work.”