Alicia Keys to sing at Ruby Dee memorial in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — A memorial for actress and civil rights activist Ruby Dee will feature music by Alicia Keys and Audra McDonald, reflections by former Mayor David Dinkins and Sonia Sanchez, and a eulogy by Harry Belafonte.
The Terrie Williams Agency said Thursday that the celebration of Lee's life will be held at the Riverside Church in New York on Sept. 20. Dee died June 11 at 91.
Dee's poetry and prose will be read by Angela Bassett, Tyne Daly, Kim Fields, S. Epatha Merkerson, Phylicia Rashad, Pauletta Washington and Lynn Whitfield. Musical tributes will be performed by Keys, McDonald, Wynton Marsalis and Peter Yarrow.
FILE - In this July 4, 2014 file photo, Alicia Keys attends the 2014 Essence Music Festival Concert - Day 2 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, in New Orleans. Keys, who often releases albums in November and December, says she is preparing for another delivery at the end of the year: her second baby. "December album? Well, I know one thing. I'm having a December baby,¿ the singer said with a laugh in an interview Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2014. (Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP, file)
Dee's long career earned her an Emmy, a Grammy, two Screen Actors Guild awards, the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Art and an Oscar nomination.
