Performer/Presenter:
Susheel Bibbs, Ph.D.
Susheel Bibbs
is a former EMMY-awardwinning TV executive producer. She holds a Ph.D.
in Communications with emphasis in the Mass Communication of African-American
and Diaspora history as well as advanced degrees in philosophy and
music. Currently
Dr. Bibbs lectures at the University of California at Berkeley. She
is also a San Francisco Film Foundation sponsoree.
An accomplished
actress and formerly an acclaimed classical singer, Dr. Bibbs won
both international notice for her singing and touring grants from
the California Arts Council's Touring and Presenting Program and others.
Her touring musical, lecture-demos, dramatic chautauqua, and exhibits
on Pleasant and lectures on the Negro spiritual and diaspora faiths
are based on original research and rare documents. These continue
to be sponsored by museums, concert series, theaters, festivals, conferences,
and colleges in the US and Canada.
In 1999 Dr. Bibbs
was recognized in their Highest Commendation by the Supervisors of
the City and County of San Francisco. This cited her film (AN UNSUNG
MUSE) and her tireless efforts to research and present the classical
song of black composers. In 2004, Bibbs was one of the first recipients
of the Friends of Negro Spirituals' "Keeper of the Spiritual
Award" for these efforts, and she is still in demand for her
lecture-demos and writings in that area.
The same Commendation
dubbed Bibbs the "world's foremost authority on Mary Ellen Pleasant."
Bibbs still plays Pleasant in touring chautauquas (enactments), which
began touring the US in 1994, have been presented in
Canada, and are now a part of the National Parks Service
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Her research collection
and these presentations have been certified
and also presented extensively by the California Council for the Humanities.
As
well, Bibbs has written a book on Pleasant (Heritage
of Power) and has produced films on her life -- two shorts -- The
Legacies of Mary Pleasant and Meet Mary Pleasant --and a one-hour
version called Meet Mary Pleasant, Mother of Civil Rights in California.
These documentaries have won awards -- Her shorts-- a 2007 Best Documentary
Short Award at the Berkeley Film Festival and a 2008 Silver Telly
(Northern Calfornia's TV) Award -- and her one-hour documentary, MEET
MARY PLEASANT... --Best Historical Documentary and Best Director of
a Documentary (for Bibbs) from the New York International Independent
Film Festival. This one-hour version has been presented on PBS in
the US and in Canada and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to
the title "world's foremost authority on
Pleasant," Susheel has received grants and other commendations-- grants
from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland and the National
Parks Service as well as commendations for her contribution to women's
history from the L.A. Afro-American Museum and the City Museum of
St. Louis.
Dr. Bibbs' DVD
archive on Pleasant, which offers some research background on her
chautauquas, is housed at the African American Museum and Library
at Oakland, CA, and at the San Francisco Public Library, and her films
are available there and at the Bancroft Library in Berkeley.
The films and
her book on Pleasant, "Heritage
of Power,"are also available through this site and on Amazon.com
for purchase. Heritage will
soon be followed by a definitive biography.
