AfroSolo Arts Festival brings artists together

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In 1991, Thomas Robert Simpson threw a 39th birthday party for himself in an acting studio above what's now the Walgreen's at Sutter and Powell streets in San Francisco. He performed snippets from what would become "There's No Hatred Here," his multi-character solo piece about the Civil Rights Movement, and actor friends performed their solo stuff. The show was a hit with the small crowd and led Simpson to start the AfroSolo Arts Festival two years later. He's been its artistic director ever since. Initially a forum for black theater artists, the festival expanded its scope to encompass music, dance, spoken word and visual art created primarily by African Americans and others of African descent. Over the years, the festival has presented big names like actress Ruby Dee, activist and comedian Dick Gregory and bluesman Charles Brown, as well as local artists and fascinating figures like Hope Foye, the jazz-singing operatic soprano and Paul Robeson protege who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.