PUSH Green and Ujima Company, Inc. team up to present free public performances of Free Fred Brown! on August 3rd and 4th
PUSH staff on-hand to sign people up for low-cost or free weatherization and renewable energy services.
Buffalo, NY – On Saturday, August 3rd and Sunday, August 4th at 2:00pm, PUSH Green and Ujima Company, Inc. will team up to present special free public all-ages performances of Free Fred Brown! at the former School 77 located at 429 Plymouth Ave. Free Fred Brown! is a devised theatre piece about a young black man who becomes the reluctant face of a movement while in prison for “theft of services” from the regional gas company. Fred is from Uptown, a frontline community at the epicenter of economic, racial, and climate justice, in a rust-belt city that is identical to Buffalo, NY. W
hen a surprise snow storm wreaks havoc on the region, Uptown suffers most and demands explanations: What happened? Who is responsible, and how do we make sure it doesn’t happen again?
The performances are timely. In late June, the NYS Legislature passed what has been heralded as the strongest and most progressive climate legislation in the country. Governor Cuomo is expected to sign the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in the coming weeks. The CLCPA mandates an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across all sectors of the economy, protects environmental justice communities overburdened by pollution, and establishes a framework for equitable reinvestment in disadvantaged communities, like the one depicted in Free Fred Brown!, to enable their participation in the clean renewable energy economy of the future.
Following the performance, staff members from PUSH Green, a NYSERDA-funded energy efficiency and renewable energy program at PUSH Buffalo, will lead a discussion with audience members around themes presented in the play and how everyday people can take action now in their communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, grow the local green economy, and access free and reduced-cost weatherization and renewable energy services to lower their energy bills.
Free tickets can be reserved online at www.ujimacoinc.org, by email at boxoffice@ujimacoinc.org, or over the phone at 716-281-0092.
What: Free public all-ages performance of Free Fred Brown!
Who: PUSH Green and Ujima Company, Inc.
When: Saturday, August 3rd at 2:00pm and Sunday, August 4th at 2:00pm
Where: The former School 77 located at 429 Plymouth Ave., Buffalo, NY 14213