John Legend with the assistance of ?uestlove played ‘Ordinary People’, ‘Save Room’, and ‘Use to Love U’ on a low and lonely piano hiding from view. He was huddled in the cave-like stage of The Slate in NYC, sitting lower than the crowd.
His stark black attire and brown piano were offset by the warm oranges and reds on the walls and furniture. The attendees seemed to be on some isolated patch of land in Africa, and Legend was sitting at the mouth of a cave – a fire resting on his’ piano creating warmth and projecting glow onto the crowd and into the upholstery.
People herded around the cave and listened to Legend croon through his songs in silence and sing-a-longs from the bar; from the VIP section; from the standing room in front of his cave; and from the inside behind drum sets and amplifiers.
The sections of the crowd were divided – red ropes, wooden islands, stairs, pianos – but they were gathered for a unifying purpose: it was All For Africa.
The vehicle for that purpose was being collected by a female cast member of FELA! quietly and elegantly wading through the crowd on stilts with glow stick bracelets to be placed on the charitable.
All For Africa(AFA) is a non-profit enterprise that is using its flagship campaign, Palm Out Poverty(POP), to generate funding.
Contributions to the POP increase in value over 35 times – a $1000 donation would generate $35,000 in funding.
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The POP agricultural campaign was started in September 2008 and thanks to support has planted 27,000 oil palm trees in Ghana.
Why palm trees? Palm trees produce oil that is heavily used and traded. Palm oil is a healthy source of edible oil and also in high demand for its use in the creation of biodiesel.
The initiative creates jobs and develops a self-sustaining infrastructure so Africa can rely on itself instead of foreign aid.
Eventually it will lead to the establisment of small and medium enterprises; the development of social infrastuctures like schools, medical centers, and employee housing.
They also plan to teach the best practices for environmental impact and resource efficiency to workers and local farmers.
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AFA plans to plant 1 million plam trees with the help of donations through POP events. These trees will generate 700 million dollars for sustainable projects in Africa.
Guests for the fundraising event included: Jeff Johnson, Jeffrey Wright, Marcus Samuelsson, Angelique Kidjo, Philip Bloch, business leaders, and entrepreneurs.
It was hosted by Sahr Ngaujah from the cast of FELA! and featured entertainment by the FELA! cast and musical performances from Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, ?uestlove, and John Legend.
Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew headline stadium performances in Sierra Leone, Africa and are known in the internationally for a song in Academy Award Wi
