Thursday, October 9, 2008

Columbus, Georgia Walk of Fame Will Honor Black Pianist Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins

[Blind Tom, The Black Pianist-Composer: Continually Enslaved; Geneva Handy Southall;
Scarecrow Press (2002)] 

Ledger-Enquirer.com:
Posted on Thu., Oct. 9, 2008
By SANDRA OKAMOTO - sokamoto@ledger-enquirer.com

“The long-awaited Columbus Walk of Fame will be dedicated at 4 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Liberty Theatre Cultural Center, 823 Eighth Ave. The first three honorees are pianist Thomas 'Blind Tom' Wiggins; Gertrude Pridgett, who is better known as Ma Rainey and the Mother of the Blues and opera singer Fredye Marshall. This is a project of the Columbus, Ga., Chapter of The Links Inc. After the ceremony, a musical tribute for the star recipients will be held by the Columbus Jazz Society.” “The Columbus, Ga. Chapter of Links was established in 1964 as part of a national organization of 10,000 women in three countries. The national organization of The Links, Inc., was founded in 1946. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and others of African ancestry. [Full Post]  [Thomas Greene Wiggins (1849-1908) was born on the Wiley Edward Jones plantation near Columbus, Georgia. He came into the world blind and autistic but a musical genius with a phenomenal memory. Even after Emancipation, his former owners kept him, in the words of the late author Geneva Handy Southall, "Continually Enslaved". His many concerts and the sale of his sheet music earned fabulous sums of money. Nearly all of it went to his owners and their heirs. Wiggins is profiled at AfriClassical.com]
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