Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph had a dream 26 years ago to pay tribute to the many friends she lost to HIV and AIDS in the 1980s.
A decade after her Tony-nominated turn originating Deena Jones in “Dreamgirls,” Ralph started DIVAS Simply Singing to raise funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS research. She’s hosted the R&B and pop concert since 1990 in Philadelphia.
“It’s all about commitment,” said Ralph, who was filming a movie in Santa Fe with Morgan Freeman when she spoke with PGN this month. “It’s a commitment to doing something that is very difficult. It’s not easy to rally people every year around a cause. People sometimes act like [the HIV epidemic] didn’t happen, like it doesn’t happen or like it doesn’t affect them.”
DIVAS Simply Singing returns Aug. 20 to the city-owned Dell Music Center at Ridge Avenue and Huntington Drive in Fairmount Park. It starts at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10-$20, depending on seat location.
Performers include Keke Wyatt, Martha Wash, Mack Wilds, Tweet, Maysa, Blushhh, Sara Dash, Jean Carne, Full Force, Cheryl Pepsi Riley and Sarita Rachelle. The Urban Guerilla Orchestra will also be featured with music director Henri McMillian.
“We like to open with something gospel,” Ralph said, noting the Rev. Alyn Waller, senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, will start the night.
During the concert, a portion of the proceeds will be presented as a donation to Bebashi, a Philadelphia-based organization that was founded to help communities of color prevent and manage HIV/AIDS.
“We’ve been very close with Ms. Ralph,” said Gary J. Bell, executive director of Bebashi. “She’s been an iconic figure in fighting HIV, especially in communities of color.”
Bell said Bebashi participated in the concert last year and a few years before that as well. The organization will have a mobile-testing unit on site to offer free HIV tests.
“People say they don’t hear about it being a problem so much anymore,” said Bell, who noted Bebashi also helps people with hunger and breast health. “When we let our guards down, that’s where it can have an impact.”
Ralph said medical professionals sometimes give the impression of not valuing their patients of color. She said people with HIV should take an active role in their treatment and volunteer for studies. Ralph added she has seen scientific progress around Hepatitis C, and that she hopes HIV could see similar advancements. She described the two diseases as “fraternal twins.”
Ralph has given this year’s concert the tagline, “A community concert for healing.”
“Philadelphia is one big community, but sometimes it’s very segregated,” said Ralph, a graduate of Rutgers University. “The north is over here. The south is over here and sometimes it’s like none shall meet. I want them to come together.”
For more information, visit www.thedivafoundation.org. For tickets, visit www.mydelleast.com.