Performer/Presenter:
Susheel Bibbs, Ph.D.
Susheel Bibbs
is a former EMMY-awardwinning TV executive producer and is currently
sponsored by the Film Arts Foundation, San Francisco. An accomplished
actress and acclaimed classical singer, Dr. Bibbs has 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 dubbed the "world's foremost authority on Pleasant"
in a commendation by the San Supervisors of the City and County of
San Francisco. Bibbs, who plays Pleasant in both dramatic chautauquas,
has written a book on Pleasant (Heritage of Power) and has produced
an upcoming documentary on her life. 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
she lectures at the University of California at Berkeley
Dr.
Bibbs' chautauquas are now a part of the National Parks Service Underground
Railroad Network to Freedom Program, and her research collection and
presentations have has been certified
by the California Council for the Humanities. Bibbs
is also a member of the National Chautauqua Tour.
In addition to
the title "world's foremost authority on
Pleasant" given by the Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco,
Susheel has also been given 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
Her DVD archive
on Pleasant is housed at the African American Museum and Library at
Oakland, CA, and at the San Francisco Public Library, and is available
to schools, colleges, and libraries for purchase;
her book on Pleasant as Mother of Civil Rights in California,
entitled "Heritage of Power,"
will soon be followed by a definitive biography.
