CICELY TYSON TO RECEIVE
THE CREATIVE COALITION’s 2006 SPOTLIGHT AWARD
Hollywood Joins with Members of 109th Congress to Salute Cicely Tyson at the
2006 Celebration of African Americans in the Arts
Congressman Charles Rangel and Business Leader Edward Lewis
Also to Receive Awards
Featuring a performance by
CHAKA KHAN
Washington, DC (August 9, 2006) – The Creative Coalition announced today that renown and legendary actress Cicely Tyson will accept the 2006 Creative Coalition Spotlight Award at the upcoming Creative Coalition’s Celebration of African Americans in the Arts Gala in partnership with ESSENCE magazine scheduled to be held in Washington, DC on September 6, 2006. Luminaries from the arenas of entertainment, business, policy, arts, letters and the media will be on hand to pay tribute to the Emmy Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson.
This VIP event also will pay tribute to the significant contributions of the nation’s greatest African American artists and is co-hosted by Co-Presidents of The Creative Coalition Tony Goldwyn and Joe Pantoliano, Angela Burt-Murray, ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief, Spike Lee, Billy Crystal, Michael Jordan, Dustin Hoffman, Woody Allen, Keith Richards, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Seal, Dan Aykroyd, Jason Alexander, Bob Balaban, Bonnie Bedelia, Richard Belzer, Polly Bergen, Phillip Bloch, Judy Blume, Barry Bostwick, David Brenner, Beau Bridges, Connie Britton, Blair Brown, Betty Buckley, Ellen Burstyn, Christian Campbell, Amy Carlson, Stockard Channing, Eleanor Clift, Bob Costas, Peter Coyote, Catherine Crier, Alan Cumming, Chuck D, Blythe Danner, Lisa Davis, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC, Dana Delany, Catherine Dent, Susan Dey, Former Mayor David N. Dinkins, Kirk Douglas, Fran Drescher, Minnie Driver, Michael Clarke Duncan, Charles S. Dutton, Jesse Dylan, Hallie Eisenberg, Linda Ellerbee, Judge Mablean Ephraim, Giancarlo Esposito, Mike Farrell, Jules Feiffer, Antwone Fisher, Roberta Flack, Vivica A. Fox, Peter Gallagher, Leeza Gibbons, Eric Gilliland, Annabeth Gish, Lauren Graham, Farrah Gray, Seth Green, Robert Guillaume, Harry Hamlin, Marvin Hamlisch, Marcia Gay Harden, Omari Hardwick, Hill Harper, Ed Harris, Buck Henry, Taraji P. Henson, Carolivia Herron, Lauren Holly, Dennis Hopper, Ernie Hudson, Cady Huffman, Anjelica Huston, Kristen Johnston, Sarah Jones, Alex Karras, Casey Kasem, Nicole Kassell, Philip Kaufman, Julie Kavner, Sue Kramer, Swoosie Kurtz, John Larroquette, Debra L. Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Holdings, Inc., Michele Lee, Carol Leifer, Harry Lennix, Juliette Lewis, Delroy Lindo, Eric Lively, Christopher Lloyd, David Lynch, Bill Maher, Penny Marshall, Richard Masur, Christopher McDonald, John Mellencamp, Donna Mills, Alfred Molina, Norah O’Donnell, Yoko Ono, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christopher Plummer, Sydney Pollack, Patrick Quinn, Rex Reed, Star Jones Reynolds, Chita Rivera, Joan Rivers, Mimi Rogers, Al Roker, Tracee Ellis Ross, Eric Roth, Geoffrey Rush, Jon Secada, Neal Sedaka, Maurice Sendak, Andres Serrano, Lori Singer, Tom Skerritt, Barry Sonnenfeld, Mathew St. Patrick, Kevin Sullivan, George Tillman Jr., Robert Townsend, Tamara Tunie, Brenda Vaccaro, Frederique van der Wal, Alice Walker, Malcom-Jamal Warner, Sam Waterston, Cornel West, Forest Whitaker, Alfre Woodard, Kerry Washington, Charles Randolph Wright, Peter Yarrow, and Daphne Zuniga. Congressional hosts include Senator Barbara Boxer,Senator Richard Burr, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Senator Tim Johnson, Senator Frank Lautenberg, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Blanche L. Lincoln, Senator Trent Lott, Senator Patty Murray, Senator Mark Pryor, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Rep. Xavier Becerra, Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Rep. Benjamin Cardin, Rep. Russ Carnahan, Rep. Julia Carson, Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Rep. Joseph Crowley, Rep. Peter DeFazio, Rep. Diana DeGette, Rep. John Dingell, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, Rep. Phil English, Rep. Bob Filner, Rep. Mark Foley, Rep. Harold Ford Jr., Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. Gene Green, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Rep. Rush Holt, Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Sandy Levin, Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Nita Lowey, Rep. Edward J. Markey, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Rep. Jim McDermott, Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, Rep. Ed Pastor, Rep. Donald Payne, Rep. Collin C. Peterson, Rep. Tom Petri, Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. Bobby Rush, Rep. Linda Sanchez, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Christopher Shays, Rep. John Shimkus, Rep. Louise Slaughter, Rep. John Tanner, Rep. Mark Udall, Rep. Diane E. Watson, and Rep. Henry Waxman.
This is a sponsored and ticketed event. For sponsor packages and ticket information, please contact Kimball Stroud at 202-543-9700/regan@creativeresourcesinc.com or The Creative Coalition at 212-614-2144/www.tcconline.org.
With more than seven million readers, ESSENCE is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African American women. Published by Essence Communications Inc., it is the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African American women’s lives. For 36 years, ESSENCE has celebrated personal achievement, chronicled social movement, documented struggles, showcased beauty, defined and set trends and illustrated the incredible journey of a resilient and splendid race. Additional information about ESSENCE is available at essence.com.
PRESS ONLY: Press must be pre-credentialed for the event. For press credentials or to set up an interview, please contact Yael Oestreich at 212-614-2527 orYoestreich@thecreativecoalition.org.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Yael Oestreich
(212) 614-2527 (310)600-6999