The 30th annual Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Show will recognize six honorees at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Robinson Center Performance Hall at Little Rock.
The 2024 class of inductees includes people with southeast Arkansas ties.
“Each year, we recognize men and women of exceptional character and undeniable talent at one of the state’s premiere fund-raising events – the ABHOF Induction Ceremony and Show,” according to a news release.
The black-tie gala draws an audience of international reach to the Robinson Center and raises money for ABHOF statewide grants program.
Honorees are:
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Steve H. Broadnax III — playwright, educator, and theatrical director;
Thomas East — musician, vocalist and entertainer;
Phyllis Dickerson — business and political strategist;
Cora Duffy McHenry —educator and advocate;
Mack Wilbourn — entrepreneur and philanthropist;
Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark (posthumous) — social psychologist.
SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS TIES
Steve H. Broadnax III — Broadnax is a well-recognized Broadway director and playwright. He taught at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where he conceived and directed The Hip Hop Project. The project originated as a one-act play written by his students in his creative writing class. It was later expanded to two acts and earned the Association of Theatre in Higher Education Playwriting Award. The Hip Hop Project was also performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, a first for any Arkansas college in the event’s 37-year history, according to a news release.
Broadnax has also taught at the Atlantic Theatre in New York City and Michigan State University.
He is a native of Little Rock, whose journey in the arts began at Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre from the Conservatory of Fine Arts at Webster University and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Pennsylvania State University. Since 2006, Broadnax has been an associate artistic director at People’s Light Theatre and Professor of Theatre at Penn State University where he co-heads the MFA Directing program and was recently awarded the Faculty Scholar Award for Achievement.
Thomas East — East is a locally and nationally renowned vocalist, pianist, and bass guitarist who was born and reared in Little Rock’s West End Community and graduated from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Normal College (now UAPB). East came on the local music scene during the early 1960s.
“While it has always been uncommon to find someone with the versatility to sing in a gospel quartet, a jazz trio, a choir, and as a soloist, it was Thomas East’s forte,” according to a news release.
His unique piano-playing style and choral training were honed by the late world-renowned Art Porter Sr. His bass guitar skills were mentored by John Craig, a well-known guitarist.
East is a national recording artist who has played with international artists such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Johnnie Taylor. He still performs as a solo pianist and vocalist at local upscale eateries and sings with the Art Porter Singers at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
For details on the other inductees or ticket information to the Black Hall of Fame ceremony, visit https://www.arblackhalloffame.org/.