Results tagged “slavery”

The anti-slavery organization Free the Slaves is holding its Freedom Awards tonight at USC’s Bovard Auditorium at 7 pm. The nonprofit frees slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives, researches solutions to the root-causes of slavery, and enlists businesses to clean slavery out of their product and supply chains. The awards provide winners with financial support to continue their work on the issue. Actresses Demi Moore and Camilla Belle, singer Peter Buffett, author Isabel Allende, football great Emmitt Smith, and Olympic Sprinter Maurice Greene are expected to attend and pay tribute to the people working on the frontlines to free slaves worldwide. Entrance to the event is free, but guests will need a ticket to enter. Request here and will be reserved based on availability.

On paper, a documentary about Béla Fleck and his banjo (sans the Flecktones) doesn’t sound very enticing. But luckily for audiences, Sascha Paladino’s film Throw Down Your Heart, doesn’t focus much on the soft-spoken and unassuming musician as much as the trip he takes to the heart of Africa, returning the banjo to its African roots. He travels to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia and Mali to jam with local musicians and learn about African music, the history of the banjo and slavery’s role in bringing the instrument to America.

That tiny notation at the bottom of your calendar tells you today is indeed Flag Day. And while many Angelenos are inadvertently and loosely interpreting that to mean "stick a Lakers flag on your car" it is actually (and obviously) a bigger deal on a national level. Besides waving your own Stars and Stripes or taking part in a parade, it's tough to commemorate the adoption of the flag.

Because it’s supposed to be such a beautiful day, I suggest heading out to the beach immediately, and then enjoying some of these free (or close to free) events going on in the evening. But that’s just me…