The Inaugural SBLF Fundraiser Gala featuring Rivers of Women, The Play, was a huge success in 2022, but we were still in the grip of the COVID 19 pandemic. Schools and businesses were struggling to adjust to our new hybrid normal, sporadic spikes in COVID continued, and we, as a country, were still reeling from a contentious election and the January 6th Insurrection. So, with the degree of uncertainty, we decided to slow down the rollout of the Foundation’s programs. We also decided to cancel what would’ve been the second annual gala out of an abundance of caution. However, I’m pleased to announce that we’ve taken the past several months to enhance and update the SBLF website and further define our programs and initiatives. Now, it is with great enthusiasm and excitement that we are announcing the highly anticipated return of the SBLF Fundraiser Gala, to be held Saturday, March 8, 2025!
“We’re bringing yesterdaze into todaze, creating new images that scream like a bird on a fence, (don’t cha kill em) for they soul be wired to electrify!” ~ Shirley Bradley Price LeFlore (Lyah has the same intention, to electrify the soul of St. Louis)
Shirley wrote with a deep affinity to women and children, and with the tremendous reception to the performance of Rivers of Women, The Play, the upcoming show entitled CHILDREN OF THE SUN, will feature a multi-ethnic cadre of young performers who will bring to life the poetry Shirley wrote dedicated to young people.
Selected poems from Shirley’s sweeping Songs Of River Magic, that was originally produced by Metro Theater Circus, and went on to grace the stages of The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, will bookend and be woven throughout the show. Additionally, audiences will hear and see for the first time, her collected works entitled, Emoshuns. These whimsical yet poignant poems connect the colors of the rainbow with the emotions children feel. Audiences will also see performances from her noted “Behavior As Theater” production that captured the experiences of girls and boys 8-15 years old struggling to find their voice and place in the future. Music will thread the needle as Alerica Anderson’s original score and reimagined arrangements of songs like “If You Believe” from The Wiz by Charlie Smalls, and Tevin Campbell’s breakout “Tomorrow,” will take center stage. Finally, dancers from the dynamic, Pointe of Surrender Dance Company will bring the magic of tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop to the stage, throughout. And the never-before-heard performance of Shirley’s choreopoem, CHILDREN OF THE SUN, is sure to bring the house down! It will be an electrifying evening you won’t want to miss.
My mother had been writing poems and stories for children and adolescents for years and she had dreams of publishing a series of books for young people, but she unfortunately passed before doing so. Now, we will finish what she set out to do! In archiving her works, I discovered dozens of richly told poems and stories about children and their curiosity about the world, but also their journey of self-discovery and understanding one’s feelings. I was especially captivated when I read her pieces dedicated to adolescent and teen girls and boys. Her words captured the raw emotions of a young person grappling with fear and anger, but also their vulnerability and innocence.
Whenever she spoke to young people, Shirley always reminded them that their words are their weapons, they can hurt or heal, and that they held so much power in their voices. She wanted kids to dream, despite and in spite of their circumstances. Shirley wanted all children to have an opportunity to stretch their wings and fearlessly fly. Now her words will live on in the forthcoming collection, CHILDREN OF THE SUN, and on stage.
Keep an eye out for updates!
~Lyah Beth LeFlore-Ituen, Executive Director of SBLF