Editor’s Note: Previous versions of this story incorrectly spelled the name of actress Charnele Brown.
The Wilmington Public Library will keep its trend of bringing in celebrity guest speakers to chat with the public for free going strong this fall.
The library will host a handful of events including (but not limited to) “Black-ish” star Jennifer Lewis, who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The event is Sept. 15, but registration is already full.
The next opportunity for the public to attend the library’s “Choppin’ It Up” series will be when the cast of “The Cosby Show” spinoff “A Different World” will be in the building on Sept. 29.
Registration started through the library’s website at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 29, but is now full.
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This “Choppin’ It Up” event also will be streamed live on the Wilmington Public Library’s Facebook page. This reunion with the cast of “A Different World” will feature Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Charnele Brown, Darryl Bell, Cree Summer and Dawnn Lewis.
Facebook: ‘I absolutely love this show’
Fans of the show blew up the library’s Facebook page after it announced registration for this event.
“We about to have BIG FUN in WILMINGTON, with DONUTS and A DIFFERENT WORLD,” an excited person wrote.
“Awesome!! Delaware Zetas will be there to Welcome our Soror Dawnn Lewis,” a proud Zeta said.
“I absolutely love this show it is my favorite show ever!!! I’ve written essays, video assignments on the significance of this show !! 30 years later still relevant !!” an obsessed fan expressed.
“my library just has a lady who sings to kids,” an envious user wrote.
“WHO EVER IS DOING THESE EVENTS NEEDS A RAISE!” someone demanded.
What is ‘A Different World?’
“A Different World” ran from the late ‘80s until the early ‘90s and it’s currently available on HBO Max.
The sitcom shares the story of a group of Black students and their adventures and struggles at the fictional Hillman College, a historically Black college.
The show initially starred Lisa Bonet (Denise Huxtable). But after she left, it focused on the relationship between Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Guy) and her relationship with math genius Dwayne Wayne (Hardison).
At the time it aired, it presented viewers with something they weren’t used to seeing a lot on TV, which was the Black college experience.
LaTisha Mays of Wilmington was one of them. She said her siblings attended HBCUs at Florida A&M, Howard University, Morgan State and South Carolina State universities, but she reluctantly went to the University of Delaware because it offered her more money.
“I am eager to attend this event simply because these actors were the reason why many of ‘us’ wanted the college experience,” Mays explained.
She added, “Their day-to-day schedules, issues, etc., made it all seem so real but attainable. We rooted for them in their lows and highs. I mean really, who didn’t want to see Whitley and Dwayne get married?”
Sitcom changed Black ‘narrative’
Kadeem Hardison from the TV sitcom “A Different World” will tour as part of a cast reunion at the Wilmington Public Library on Sept. 29 as part of its free “Choppin’ it Up” series. Hardison attends the premiere of OWN’s “Love Is_” at NeueHouse Hollywood on June 11, 2018, in Los Angeles.
Jess Graham of North Wilmington said “A Different World” was a valuable tool to her growing up as a white person, especially because she didn’t live in the United States.
“Growing up in Canada, I watched that show a lot because I liked the characters and friend group and stories. But along the way, it greatly helped inform my awareness of American Black history, civil rights issues, HBCUs, you name it,” Graham said.
She appreciated that it showed a Black community that was striving for knowledge.
“That was such valuable representation in a decade where ‘ghetto thug’ was the most common role available for male African American actors,” she added. “And as you can see, it had an impact beyond the borders of the USA.”
Wilmington native Brandy A. Osimokun said the concept of HBCUs wasn’t foreign to her growing up because she’s the grandchild of Lillian and Vallee Rice, longtime Delaware educators and graduates of Morgan University.
But the reason she’s interested in checking out this reunion event at the library is because of how much the show impacted her when she was attending Glasgow High School.
“I was primarily bused to Newark and was always one of three blacks in my classroom. I felt seen by the show and wanted to attend an HBCU badly,” Osimokun explained. “I ended up graduating from Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina.”
