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GUEST: Buddy Collette, legendary jazz musician and civil rights activist, Yusef Omowale, Director of the Southern California Library

This Saturday, legendary jazz musician and civil rights activist Buddy Collette will appear, along with others at the Southern California Library for an all-day event called “I Have a Story to Tell.” Born in Watts, in 1921, Collette became a fixture in the Central Avenue Jazz scene and was the first African-American to perform in a television studio band, appearing on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life. But he also played a crucial role as a political activist, leading a grassroots campaign to desegregate the Los Angeles musician’s union. Buddy Collette also helped organize a concert and rally protesting government repression of legendary African-American singer, actor and political activist Paul Robeson.

Buddy will tell his story at the Southern California Library, 6120 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles (between Slauson and Gage) on Saturday, December 8, 2007, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. A full schedule of events and performances is available at www.socallib.org. You can also call (323) 759-6063 for more information.