Sweet Honey in the Rock founder performs with daughter at Creative Alliance

“On Mother’s Day, we just need to think of the ground we stand on and the women who have helped us to take the steps we have taken in our lives. To me, that is usually a mother.” —Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder, Sweet Honey in the Rock

Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon and her daughter Toshi Reagon will perform together at a special Mother's Day celebration at the Creative Alliance located at 3134 Eastern Avenue in Baltimore City. Both mother and daughter are excitedly looking forward to their musical collaboration, which takes place at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

“Toshi and I have really enjoyed being mother and daughter and also sharing a passion for performing, producing and working in the area of African American history,” said Dr. Johnson Reagon. “We enjoy being women who are maturing in our fields. We always look forward to opportunities to collaborate together.”

According to Dr. Johnson Reagon, her daughter is her strongest musical collaborator. Toshi is a composer, producer, founder and leader of her own ensemble, Toshi Reagon and Big Lovely.

“Toshi and I have a very strong relationship, and we are really in each other’s corner,” said Dr. Johnson Reagon. “We also give each other space to operate as businesswomen and adults. We are very active in social justice issues. It’s a joy to come to an elder position in my years working in my career field and to find such a strong powerful woman in my daughter.”

Dr. Johnson Reagon is a scholar, singer/song leader, and has been an activist for over half a century. She is a profound contributor to African American and American culture. A native of Georgia, Dr. Johnson Reagon's singing style and traditional repertoire is grounded in her experiences in church, school, and political activism. 

As a composer, she has created a narrative of her social and political activism through her songs and larger compositions.  She performed as a member of the SNCC Freedom Singers during the 1960s, and founded an all-women acapella ensemble, The Harambee Singers. She founded and led the internationally acclaimed Sweet Honey In The Rock for 30 years until retirement. Paralleling her work in music, Dr. Johnson Reagon is one of the leading authorities in African American cultural history.  

 “I really don’t worry about what my legacy will be because that’s not my side,” she said. “I just try to take advantage of my training and opportunities to do important work in multiple fields. It has been a true blessing to operate on that side.”

Dr. Johnson Reagon talked about the uniqueness of motherhood.

Being a mother means having the opportunity to cover and ground another life,” she said. “My mother had eight children, was married and worked, but she said the true blessings in her life were her children. I think that as we come to a place where we pause around motherhood, we appreciate how special it is. On Mother’s Day, we just need to think of the ground we stand on and the women who have helped us to take the steps we have taken in our lives. To me, that is usually a mother.”

Taking the stage at just 17, Toshi is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and moves audiences with her cross genre offerings of blues, rock, gospel, and incredible original songs.  She has opened for Lenny Kravitz, and performed with the likes of Elvis Costello.

“Our first and most important collaboration is as mother and daughter,” said Toshi.  “She has been an awesome mom. We now have an over 30- year artistic relationship. Whenever I need my mom she is right there next to me - and that is for any issue, not just issues of civil rights. We don't do a lot of shows together, but we are really happy when we get to. They asked and we had the dates open. We are both really happy to be coming to Baltimore.”

She added, “Mother’s Day is this big commercial holiday - but I have always loved it. I think about my mother, and all the mothers who have raised me, and all the mothers around the world who make a way out of no way.”

For more information about this performance, call (410) 276-165 or visit creativealliance.org.

Getting an education in music and the arts at Bowie State University just got a little easier, thanks to the legendary musicians who brought the world songs like, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and “Solid.”

The Bowie State University (BSU) Foundation is hosting a special tribute concert from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 17, 2013 to honor the life and legacy of the late Nickolas Ashford and his widow, Valerie Simpson, who made up the award-winning duo, Ashford & Simpson.

 “Ms. Simpson will be in attendance for the event and we will introduce new scholarships for students while supporting the Ashford & Simpson Endowed Music Scholarship Fund,” said BSU spokeswoman, LeAmber Howell.

The event will take place in BSU’s new $71 million Fine and Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2012 and features specialized art and recording studios, dance floors, a photography processing lab and an outdoor sculpture workspace.

The 128,000 square-foot center, which school officials said will greatly enhance the education experience for students, includes a 400-seat main theatre, a 200-seat black box theatre and a 200-seat recital hall.

It also includes classrooms, laboratories and office suites.

 “What a privilege it is to celebrate Ashford & Simpson for their exceptional accomplishments as internationally renowned songwriters, producers and performers,” said Richard Lucas, vice president of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the Bowie State Foundation.

Established by the BSU Foundation, the Ashford & Simpson Endowed Music Scholarship Fund will honor their legacy and their continued commitment to providing a platform for aspiring artists, Lucas said.

BSU plans to award two scholarships each year, Lucas said.

Along with Simpson, Ashford, who died in 2011 at the age of 70, penned such soulful classic songs as “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” and “I’m Every Woman.”

Widely regarded as one of the best songwriting teams in music history, the couple wrote for many of music’s legends, including Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles.

Married since 1974, Ashford & Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. In addition to writing countless classics for others, the couple recorded 15 albums together, including four that went gold. Their final album was “Been Found,” a 1996 collaboration with poet Maya Angelo.

Prior to President Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Ashford & Simpson re-recorded their hit song, “Solid as a Rock,” and changed the lyrics to, “Solid as Barack.”

Simpson recently released a new CD, “Dinosaurs are Coming Back Again.”

The BSU tribute will feature jazz and gospel producer Jeff Majors, Baltimore jazz singer Maysa Leak, and jazz and pop singer Jean Carne. An All-Star band, conducted by Clarence Knight of the BSU Department of Fine and Performing Arts, will also perform.

“Whether Valerie Simpson will perform, that’s still up in the air,” Howell said.

However, Simpson will receive an honorary degree before the show. Ashford will also receive an honorary degree, posthumously.

“The goal is to increase enrollment and heighten awareness about the University’s fine and performing arts programs, including music, art, visual communication and digital media arts, music technology, and theatre arts,” Lucas said.

Tickets for the event are $200 for general admission and $275 for VIP access, which includes a pre-concert reception. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.bowiestate.edu or call 301-860-4300.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly committed the most terrible of acts, the killing and maiming of innocent people. So when cemeteries in Cambridge, Massachusetts refused to take his body for burial, it was easy to understand the dark mutterings about the Boston Marathon bombing suspect not deserving a proper burial, about how he should be cremated despite his family's wishes and his religion's traditions, or his corpse cast into the sea.

Easy to understand, but wrong. Ultimately, Tsarnaev's burial isn't so much about him or what he deserves as it is about our society, which generally tries to do the decent thing. Decency means treating the dead with basic civility and respect, no matter who the person was or what acts they may have committed.

Tsarnaev's mother reportedly wants his remains returned to Russia; an uncle in the United States, who has been working with the funeral home that has his body, thinks he should be buried in Cambridge, where he lived before he was killed in a shootout with police. In any case, the family wants him to be buried in accordance with Muslim belief but private cemeteries have refused to accept the body, and the city of Cambridge says it doesn't want the gravesite in public burial grounds for fear of protests; it also might be difficult to keep angry Bostonians from vandalizing the grave.

Tsarnaev's family might not get exactly what they wish for, but a dead person— even one who is suspected of evil— must receive appropriate funeral arrangements without undue public outcry. Texas, a state that is far too willing to execute criminals, at least understands its responsibilities toward those it has killed: Unclaimed bodies of criminals are buried, with a service, in a well-tended cemetery on prison grounds.

Funeral director Peter Stefan, who agreed to handle arrangements for Tsarnaev's remains, told the Associated Press that he has received abusive phone calls for this act of decency. "Can I pick and choose? No," he said. "Can I separate the sins from the sinner? No. We are burying a dead body. That is what we do."

Exactly! That is what we as a society are supposed to do— bury or cremate the dead with reasonable consideration of their families' wishes. The public isn't being asked to honor Tsarnaev, but it should honor its own standards of righteous behavior.

I recently read an article discussing how younger, college-educated people are drawn to life in a city. One source pondered, “Why wouldn’t a college grad be drawn by the allure of life in a big city?” He assumes there are few rural opportunities for young people and that nothing can change that.

When I left for college, I wasn’t sure I’d return to the rural community where I was raised. But I knew I would end up in rural America. After college graduation, I had no desire to strike out for a big city. I longed to return to rural life because I love fresh air, wide open spaces, uninterrupted horizons, natural amenities, and serenity. My own childhood growing up on a ranch had hard times but also provided me with amazing experiences. That’s the life I envision for my children.

The things I learned on the ranch: responsibility, accountability and respect for life and nature are the things I hope to instill in my children. And I want them to enjoy the luxuries (safety, security, quality education) small towns and rural communities provide.

As my children grow, I hope they realize there are vast opportunities in rural America in agriculture, small business and other professions. When they embark on their journey after high school, I hope they get an education and discover new things. But I also hope I have demonstrated that they can buck the trend, come back to rural America and lead successful, fulfilling lives.

The Center for Rural Affairs was formed by rural Nebraskans concerned about family farms and rural communities and works to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities. To contact Elisha Smith, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .