Mayor Eric Garcetti will head at a contingent of elected officials at the City of Los Angeles African American Heritage Month Worship Service hosted by First AME Church, 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., in Los Angeles. The Rev. J. Edgar Boyd is the host pastor.
The service, set for Sunday, February 11, at 10 a.m., will feature Bishop Clement W. Fugh, presiding prelate of the Fifth Episcopal District of the AME Church, as the guest preacher. Also, gospel artist Tramaine Hawkins will perform and members of the California Legislative Black Caucus will honored.
According to Michael Ellison-Lewis, FAME spokesperson, “The significance of this service is bolstered by the fact that the Honorable Frederick M. Roberts, California’s first African American legislator who served 16 years in the State Assembly, was a member and an officer of First AME Church and he also authored the bill to establish UCLA.”
Another highlight of the service is the unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage stamp honoring legendary performer and civil rights activist Lena Horne.
Lena Horne Black Heritage stamp (U.S. Postal Service)
Born in Brooklyn, NY, on June 30, 1917, Horne began her career as a dancer at Harlem’s Cotton Club. Moving to Hollywood in 1941, Horne’s contract with MGM stipulated that she would be asked to take stereotypical roles then available to black actors. Her memorable movies include “Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, both released in 1943
Horne entertained black servicemen during World War II and after the war, worked with Eleanor Roosevelt in pressing for anti-lynching legislation. In the 1960s, Horne continued her high-profile work for civil rights, performing at rallies in the South, supporting the work of the National Council for Negro Women, and participating in the 1963 March on Washington.
The recipient of one Tony and three Grammy Awards, Horne also received the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the Actors Equity Paul Robeson Award and a Kennedy Center Honors Award.
To learn more about the worship service, call FAME at (323) 735-1251.
