I took a break from Philly’s geek fest and saw a live performance of the Broadway musical, “Memphis,” captured for the big screen.
The 2010 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical is loosely based on the life of pioneering disc jockey Dewey Phillips. It tells the story of a fictional white DJ, Huey Calhoun, who introduces white kids to “race music.” The back story is one of “fame and forbidden love.”
“Memphis” will be shown in movie theaters nationwide on selected dates.
The unvarnished Memphis was the backdrop for a seminal event in the civil rights movement.
This morning, President Obama will meet with several of the workers who took part in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. Following the meeting, they will go to the Department of Labor for an induction ceremony.
Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis announced that the 1,300 workers who took part in the sanitation strike will be inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame.
For more info about the Memphis Sanitation Strike, visit “I Am a Man.”
UPDATE: Eight members of AFSCME Local 1733 met President Obama at the White House. One, Joe Warren, celebrated his 90th birthday the day before arriving in DC.
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They later attended the induction ceremony before a SRO crowd in the Grand Hall of the Department of Labor.
