An expert on surveillance and racism speaks in Delray, and Juneteenth events celebrate Black culture. Plus, Dead Kennedys, a landmark animated film, and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Simone Browne
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
For the last five years of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was lucky to carve out even a scintilla of privacy. In efforts to discredit King from his perch as a civil rights leader, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover tapped his phones, bugged his hotel rooms and placed informants among his closest confidants. King may have been a figure of historical importance, but he was also a Black man. For an author like Simone Browne, King fits into a continuum of the clandestine persecution of Black individuals, from the branding and policing of slaves to post-9/11 airport security practices and beyond. Browne, an associate professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, is arguably the nation’s foremost expert on the surveillance of Black individuals. In fact, in 2015, she wrote the book on it, the award-winning Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness. In this appearance, the last of Arts Garage’s “Authors Speak” series in conjunction with the Spady Museum and the Delray Beach CRA, Browne will discuss her revelations and ongoing surveillance research.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “Mad God”
When: 8:45 p.m.
Where: O Cinema, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
Cost: $9.50-$11
Contact: 786/471-3269, o-cinema.org
It takes a lot for me to recommend anybody schlep down to Miami to see a movie, but for fans of science fiction and old-fashioned animation, “Mad God” is un-missable. Phil Tippett is one of Hollywood’s titans of visual effects, contributing to franchises from “Jurassic Park” to the original “Star Wars” trilogy to “Robocop,” and “Mad God” marks his remarkable feature-film debut as a director, at 70 years young. As evidenced by the story and visuals, Tippett has anything but mellowed with age. “Mad God” depicts a character known as the Assassin, who prowls a nightmare-fueled underworld polluted with “tortured souls, decrepit bunkers, and wretched monstrosities forged from the most primordial horrors of the subconscious mind.” In other words, fun for the whole family! Tippett’s singular vision was created using stop-motion animation, which he proves still has the ability to marvel in an age of hyper-perfect CGI. The film runs at least through June 23 at O Cinema, and is streaming at home on the Shudder platform.
SATURDAY
What: Delray Beach Concours d’Elegance
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: 200 S.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: Free
Contact: delrayconcours.com
Positioned as a homier alternative to Boca Raton’s posh, longtime Concours d’Elegance, Delray Beach’s version is a free community gathering in which more than 100 “less than perfect” classic cars from all eras will be on display. Scheduled to attract families over Father’s Day weekend, this Concours includes gleaming police and fire vehicles, food and other vendors, and live music. The vision of its young founder, aspiring developer and Delray native Max Zengage (pictured above), the Delray Concours d’Elegance has landed some key local players on its car-competition judging panel (Randy Cox, Lance Stander, Ryan Boylston, Gregg Weiss, Paul Hughes and Melvin Madan), and proceeds from the event will benefit the Achievement Centers for Children and Families, Community Classroom Project, Community Greening, and Delray Citizens for Delray Police.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Juneteenth celebrations
When: Event times vary
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
Cost: Usually free
Contact: delraycra.com/Juneteenth-roadmap-2022
Juneteenth, the country’s newest federal holiday, will celebrate African-American culture in the U.S. on the anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans. The Spady Museum and its partners in Delray Beach have slated a busy weekend of events both solemn and festive, beginning with Saturday’s seventh-annual, 1.5-mile Walk Against Violence and Hate at 9 a.m., beginning and ending at Pompey Park and culminating with a Juneteenth Think Tank and Celebration. At 10:30 a.m., also at Pompey, the Spady will host a soil collection ceremony in remembrance of local lynching victim Samuel Nelson. It’s part of a wider Freedom Celebration, spanning from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., complete with food, music, entertainment, vendors and interactive activities. There also will be a Black-owned Business Vendor Expo (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Delray Community Missionary Baptist Church), a concert by Julius Sanna and the Positively Africa Experience (8 p.m. Saturday at Arts Garage), and a Highwaymen Live Painting Demo and Art Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Williams Cottage, 170 N.W. Fifth Ave.
SUNDAY
What: Dead Kennedys
When: 6:30 p.m.
Where: Revolution Live, 100 S.W. Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $32-$35
Contact: 954/449-1025, jointherevolution.net
One of the seminal American punk bands from the genre’s irrepressible pioneer days, Dead Kennedys sought to shock, confront and make mischief, from frontman Jello Biafra’s urgently political lyrics to the group’s notoriously graphic name. Classic bangers like “California Uber Alles,” “Too Drunk to Fuck” and “Holiday in Cambodia” have become foundational punk anthems, influencing countless bands with three chords and a message to form their own groups. While the band was often singularly associated with its outrageous lead singer, Biafro has not been a part of Dead Kennedys since 1986; currently, Ron “Skip” Greer, a dynamic vocalist with a powerful physical presence, fills the maestro’s shoes, performing alongside founding members East Bay Ray and Klaus Flouride, and the audience still goes bananas.
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