Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad, best known as America’s mom on “The Cosby Show,” is part of a free-to-see lineup of stellar celebrity guests who’ll soon grace Wilmington Public Library.
Tuesday on Facebook, the library announced Rashad, who also had a recurring role in the hit drama “This is Us,” will be joined by rap legend Slick Rick, former NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and world-renowned poet Nikki Giovanni.
Each individual will headline the library’s free “Voices of Power” series for Black History Month. An event will be held during the first four weeks of February.
Unlike previous events featuring high-profile guests, visitors won’t be required to RSVP this time. The library will admit guests on a first-come, first-served basis, Jamar Rahming, director of Wilmington Public Library, said.
The Facebook post said patrons can stay tuned for more information, including times for the event, on the library’s social pages, including Facebook and Instagram.
Giovanni starts the “Voices of Power” series Wednesday, Feb. 1, followed by Abdul-Rauf on Thursday, Feb. 9. Then there’s Rashad on Wednesday, Feb. 15, with closer Slick Rick on Thursday, Feb. 23.
Poet extraordinaire Nikki Giovanni
Giovanni, who turns 80 in June, has a tall list of accomplishments. Her accolades include being named one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 Living Legends.
She has seven NAACP Image Awards, along with the Langston Hughes Award.
Rahming said it’s a pleasure to host giants like Giovanni and Rashad, as they’re both in their senior years and he feels it’s important to give them their flowers while they’re still living.
NBA star and activist Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Abdul-Rauf played nine seasons in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies. He averaged 14.6 points, according to basketball-reference.com.
But he’s not relevant today solely because of his stats.
The former No. 3 overall draft pick of the Nuggets caught a ton of heat in the late 1990s for not standing during the national anthem. It ended up cutting his NBA career short.
Rahming said some people still don’t know who Abdul-Rauf is because he doesn’t have the same profile as Rashad. But out of the guests coming next month, he’s most excited about him because he sacrificed his career to make a statement when it was far less cool or trendy.
“He was the Stephen Curry of the ‘90s. … He paved the way for someone like Colin Kaepernick to take a knee,” Rahming said. “He was an activist when it cost you something.”
Legendary actress Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad was welcomed into households around the globe for her portrayal of Bill Cosby’s fictional wife, Clair Huxtable, in “The Cosby Show” from 1984-1992.
More recently, she had a recurring role on NBC’s “This is Us,” portraying the mother of Susan Kelechi Watson’s Beth and mother-in-law to Sterling K. Brown’s Randall.
In 2021, Howard University named Rashad as dean of Howard University College of Fine Arts, which has since been renamed to the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.
Last year, she won her second Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway show “Skeleton Crew.”
Rap icon Slick Rick
Who would’ve thought turning a bedtime story into rhymes would become one of the biggest hits in hip-hop history?
Slick Rick, who Jay-Z credits as an inspiration, caused havoc in the late ‘80s when he dropped his biggest hit, “Children’s Story.”
The song has 46 million views on YouTube. The music video for that song inspired former Firefly duo Outkast’s video for their song “Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1),” which featured Rick.
The rap OG made it fashionable to wear an eye patch and rhyme with a smooth and calm delivery. Now it makes a little more sense why Jay-Z sounds so chill on records.
Rahming said he’s happy to bring Rick the Ruler for many reasons, especially since this year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop’s birth.
The Black History Lineup isn’t the full lineup of guests that will present at the Wilmington Public Library this year. Stay tuned for more announcements.
“Voices of Power” will be held at the Wilmington Public Library (10 E. 10th St., Wilmington) from Wednesday, Feb. 1, through Thursday, Feb. 23. For more info, visit the library on Facebook, Instagram or wilmington.lib.de.us.
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