Let Freedom Sing! Workshop and Concert by Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

What: Workshop and concert in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday

When: Friday, January 16, 7-9 p.m. (vocal workshop)

Saturday, January 17, 8 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. (concert)

Where: Revels Community Room, 531 Dale Drive, Silver Spring, MD (Friday workshop)

Washington Ethical Society Auditorium, 7750 16th St., NW, Washington, DC (Saturday Concert)

Admission: $20-30 (Friday workshop)

Free to members/$15 for non-members (Saturday concert)

Information & Directions: fsgw.org

Reservations: Friday Workshop: send RSVP to BusyGraham@gmail.com / (301) 466-0183.

Saturday Concert: Tickets at the door

Let Freedom Sing! Workshop and Concert by Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

Honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior at two fabulous events with renowned folksingers, writers, educators and civil rights activists Sparky and Rhonda Rucker. The Ruckers combine a passion for historical research with an ability to enthrall audiences with their singing, musicianship and storytelling. They accompany themselves on guitar, banjo, harmonica, spoons and bones.

Sparky and Rhonda will present a vocal workshop in Silver Spring, on Friday, January 16 and a concert the following evening, Saturday, January 17. Here are the details:

Friday, January 16, 7-9 p.m.

Let Freedom Sing! Vocal Workshop with Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

Sing together, explore harmonies, and prepare two songs to perform with Sparky and Rhonda as part of their FSGW concert at the Washington Ethical Society Auditorium on Saturday.

The workshop will be held at the Revels Community Room at 531 Dale Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland. The fee to attend is $20-30 (sliding scale; work exchange options available)

Singers are welcome to attend the Friday workshop regardless of whether they are able to perform in Saturday’s concert. Those participating in Saturday’s event must have a ticket (free for FSGW members).

To attend the workshop, send an RSVP to BusyGraham@gmail.com /
(301) 466-0183.

Saturday, January 17, 8 pm

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker in Concert.

The Ruckers bring the past alive through their toe-tapping music spiced with humor, history, and tall tales. In this tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they will use songs and stories drawn from their own experience to tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement.

Sparky has been involved with the civil rights movement since the 1950s. He participated in workshops at the Highlander Center with many prominent people in the movement, such as Rosa Parks, Myles Horton, and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. During the 1960s, he served as Vice President of the Black Student Union at the University of Tennessee. As an activist, he worked with the Poor People’s Campaign and several civil rights organizations, including SNCC, SCLC, and SSOC. He marched shoulder-to-shoulder with SNCC Freedom Singers Matthew and Marshall Jones and played freedom songs at rallies, marches, and sit-ins alongside other folksingers such as Guy Carawan and Pete Seeger. His support for others knew no color boundaries. He worked to win recognition and benefits for white Southern Appalachian coal miners as a staff member of the Council of the Southern Mountains in the 1970s.

The concert will be held at the Washington Ethical Society Auditorium, 7750 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. For directions and further information, visit the FSGW website, fsgw.org.

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Founded in 1964, FSGW is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.