Terry Buffington Foundation: Fundraising Gala

Friday, November 1 at 7:30 PM

This November, for the second anniversary of the Terry Buffington Foundation we are excited to announce another piece from the Terry Buffington Papers, the Eddie Brooks Tapes! Cultural Anthropologist Terry Buffington interviewed Eddie Brooks on November 18, 2010, in Tupelo Mississippi where Brooks gives a fascinating and powerful account of his involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1960s as a teenager.

In 1964 Eddie Brooks was a young black teenager, age 17 who was born in the Mississippi Delta town of Marks, but grew up on the southside of Chicago. That same year Brooks was a high school student enrolled in the City of Chicago Public School system and became a member of the Civil Rights Movement, student organization, Friends of SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee) who had a chapter at the University of Chicago.

During the 1964 Freedom Summer Campaign Brooks left Chicago and traveled to Mississippi to join SNCC where he became a Freedom Summer SNCC field organizer and a Freedom Summer teacher who worked and lived in West Point, Mississippi, Terry Buffington’s hometown.
Freedom Summer, or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a 1964 voter registration drive to increase the number of registered Black voters in Mississippi. Over 700 mostly white volunteers joined the blacks in Mississippi to fight against voter intimidation and discrimination at the polls.

Join us Friday, November 1, 2024, from 7:30 PM -11:00 PM at Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre https://www.kenworthy.org/ for a packed evening of art, entertainment and history as professor Terry Buffington and Son, Kwasi Buffington perform a stage reading of the Eddie Brooks Tapes, from the Terry Buffington Papers 1952-2014 Audiocassette 2: Eddie Brooks tape 2, 18 November 2010: Side 1 https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/07ddd/id/73/rec/1

To kickoff the evening festivities the talented singer/songwriter/musician, Stephanie Anne Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XW8R7E3PWE&t=1s will perform a live solo set, for her debut in the Pullman-Moscow area!

After the soulful sounds of Stephanie, the Terry Buffington Foundation will take the stage to read the Eddie Brooks Tapes with Terry Buffington reading the part of herself and Kwasi Buffington reading the part of Eddie Brooks. For your visual desire and art collection acclaimed Artist, Abigail Nnaji will feature her highly sought-after art on display and for sale! https://www.abigailnnaji.com/

Special VIP tickets available for the Speakeasy reception after the stage reading. These exclusive and limited tickets provide you with access to a special juke-joint style reception that includes gourmet hors d’oeuvres, a complimentary drink, cash bar and a meet and greet with Professor Terry Buffington and Stephanie Anne Johnson!

Event Schedule
Doors Open 7:00 PM
Stephanie Anne Johnson 7:30-8:00 PM
Eddie Brooks Tape Stage Reading 8:00-10:00 PM
VIP Speakeasy Reception 10:00-11:00 PM

Tickets
$10 General Admission$10.00 Student Tickets: Includes entry to the event and access to all general activities. Casual dress and enjoy a night of celebration, entertainment, and community support.
$25.00 Early Bird: Includes entry to the event and access to all general activities. Casual dress and enjoy a night of celebration, entertainment, and community support. Available until Sept. 30
$30.00 General Admission: Includes entry to the event and access to all general activities. Casual dress and enjoy a night of celebration, entertainment, and community support.
$50.00 VIP Tickets: Includes entry to the event, access to all general activities, exclusive access to the VIP Speakeasy which includes hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, and a meet and greet with Professor Terry Buffington and Stephanie Anne Johnson! All VIP tickets are redeemable for one complimentary drink.