Jazz documentary co-written by CCRI professor to screen during Black History Month
Jazz documentary co-written by CCRI professor to screen during Black History Month
Feb. 11, 2020
An award-winning documentary on jazz music in Rhode Island co-written and directed
by Community College of Rhode Island Videographer and Film Professor Norm Grant and
filmmaker Tom Shaker will be featured as part of the CCRI’s Black History Month festivities
at all four campuses.
Grant co-wrote and co-directed “Do It, Man! The Story of The Celebrity Club,” which
premiered in 2017, with Shaker, a fellow college professor and author. The film tells
the story of Providence’s legendary Celebrity Club, which featured the top national
jazz and R&B acts throughout the 1950s and was widely considered the first interracial
nightclub in New England.
Owned by local businessman Paul Fillipi, who years later went on to open Ballard’s
Beach Resort on Block Island, the Celebrity Club hosted the likes of Louis Armstrong,
Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington, uniting people of all cultures through music in
what were remembered as turbulent times for race relations in Rhode Island.
“Do It, Man!” screens for free on the following dates, times and locations during
Black History Month: February 19from 12:30–2 pm at the Liston Campus Auditorium, February
20 from 1–2:30 pm in Room 222 of the Newport County Campus, February 24 from 1–2:30
pm in Room 2344 of the Flanagan Campus, and February 25 from noon–1:30 pm in Room
1130 of the Knight Campus.
The film earned the 2018 Peter C. Rollins Award for Best Documentary Film through
the American Popular Culture Association and the 2018 Best Documentary Film award
at the Shawna Shea Film Festival. “Do It, Man!” also screened at the 2018 Rhode Island
Black Film Festival and the 2018 Miami Independent Film Festival.
“It’s nice to see it screened here,” said Grant, who laid the groundwork for the documentary
more than a decade ago with Shaker. “When you look at the news in recent years, race
is still a relevant story, so I think this story is still relevant because of that.”
Retired CCRI music professor Lloyd Kaplan approached Grant more than a decade ago
about profiling the history of jazz music in Rhode Island. Grant read Who’s Who in
Rhode Island Jazz, a book written by Kaplan and Hall of Fame bass player Bob Petteruti,
and became fascinated with the section detailing the Celebrity Club, hence the idea
to write and produce a documentary on the club’s origins. Grant and Shaker teamed
up on the project and began interviewing subjects for the film in 2005, from local
musicians to noted historians.
In addition to the music, “Do It, Man!” focuses heavily on Rhode Island’s tempestuous
race relations in the ‘50s. Black musicians were often denied access to hotels in
order to perform at local venues, Grant said, but Fillipi owned a handful of rooms
above the Celebrity Club and would allow visiting performers to stay for a week at
a time so they could play each night in front of sold-out crowds. The Celebrity Club,
located in the Randall Square section of Providence, closed in the early ‘60s after
first opening its doors in 1949, but is often credited for ushering in a wave of social
change in Rhode Island.
“If it wasn’t a turning point in race relations in the state,” Grant said, “I think
it was at least a significant step forward.”
A former award-winning photojournalist who has had his work published in the New York
Daily News, Boston Globeand USA Today, Grant worked in CCRI’s Department of Information
Technology before joining the Marketing and Communications Department. He is the college’s
chief videographer and currently teaches Foundations of Video and Audio Production,
Media and Broadcast History and Documentary Production.
Michael Marrapodi has joined CCRI as the new Executive Director of Online Learning. He has been involved with education since teaching music at a private school during his senior year of college in 1976 and is now an innovative leader in the online learning sector.
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The Community College of Rhode Island’s Division of Workforce Partnerships has won the 2024 PACE-RI Academic Partnership Award for its work in developing free training programs to help upskill more than 50 employees through online trainings and in-person courses at PACE’s East Providence, RI, headquarters and CCRI’s Providence Campus.
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Michael Marrapodi has joined CCRI as the new Executive Director of Online Learning. He has been involved with education since teaching music at a private school during his senior year of college in 1976 and is now an innovative leader in the online learning sector.
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November 26, 2024
Eighteen-year-old Rhode Island Promise scholar and Warwick, RI, resident Lucas Johnson revived an old family tradition this past summer with Sandwich Party Sundays – a unique opportunity to spread joy and good cheer to Providence's homeless population each weekend at Kennedy Plaza.
A Providence, RI, native, and Community College of Rhode Island Class of 2011 alumna, Flavia A. Albert, M.A., is on the verge of releasing her first children's book next month to combine her passion for behavioral health and early childhood development with her love for storytelling.
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March 31, 2025
The CCRI Dental Hygiene Clinic’s upcoming Sealant and Fluoride Community Day on Friday, April 25, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Lincoln Campus will provide free dental sealants and fluoride treatments for children and teens ages 6 to 17. The event will be led by CCRI’s dental hygiene students, who will provide preventative care under the supervision of licensed professionals.
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March 17, 2025
Warwick, RI- Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) student and Warwick resident, Lucas Johnson, has been named a 2025 New Century Transfer Scholar and will receive a $2,250 scholarship.
Governor McKee, CCRI Announces Launch of Associate Degree in Culinary Craftsmanship
March 07, 2025
NEWPORT, RI – Governor Dan McKee and the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) today announced the launch of an associate in arts degree in Culinary Craftsmanship on CCRI’s Newport Campus in fall 2025. To support this initiative, Governor McKee is proposing $850,000 to create a Culinary and Hospitality hub at CCRI’s Newport Campus. The hub will serve as a state-of-the-art learning environment designed to meet the growing demand for skilled culinary professionals in Rhode Island’s workforce.
CCRI Metallica Scholars: Forging Paths to Success in Healthcare
March 05, 2025
For students like Esther Duran, of Providence, Wanda Wrobleski, of Cumberland, and Richard Garcia, of Providence, the journey to a fulfilling career in healthcare has been transformed thanks to the Community College of Rhode Island and the Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI). Funded by a $75,000 grant from the legendary rock band’s foundation, All Within My Hands, this initiative provides financial support to students enrolled in CCRI’s Medical Assistant and Patient Support Specialist workforce training programs—helping to alleviate financial burdens and empower students to focus on their education and career goals.
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March 05, 2025
Warwick, RI- The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) Women’s Basketball teamshowcased their dominance once again in the NJCAA Region XXI Conference, securing the regional title for the fourth year in a row and, punching their ticket to the National Tournament.
WARWICK, RI – The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) Players continue their 2024–25 season with a bold and thought-provoking production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins, running March 6–9 at the Bobby Hackett Theatre on CCRI's Knight Campus.
The Community College of Rhode Island's (CCRI) student-run theatre group, the CCRI Players, proudly marks half a century of participation in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region 1, held this year at Central Connecticut State University. Over the five-day event, the Players distinguished themselves by securing 10 awards across various disciplines, including acting and properties design.
February marks Black History Month, a time to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans in this country; a time to acknowledge the lasting achievements of the people of the African diaspora who have shaped American history; and a time to walk alongside today’s Black leaders as they lead the work to create a truly anti-racist, inclusive community for all.
The Community College of Rhode Island announces its Fall 2024 Dean's List. Students enrolled in a degree program who have completed 12 credits with a grade point average of 3.25 or higher this semester with no grade lower than “C” are eligible for this scholastic honor.
World Languages student and Rhode Island native wins fifth Emmy Award for film-editing technology
December 13, 2024
Cranston, RI, native Thomas Ohanian, a World Languages & Cultures student completing his independent study, recently won his fifth Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for co-inventing the Avid Multicamera System, a technology that has revolutionized the film-making and editing industry.
College's Division of Workforce Partnerships earns 2024 PACE-RI Academic Partnership Award
December 12, 2024
The Community College of Rhode Island’s Division of Workforce Partnerships has won the 2024 PACE-RI Academic Partnership Award for its work in developing free training programs to help upskill more than 50 employees through online trainings and in-person courses at PACE’s East Providence, RI, headquarters and CCRI’s Providence Campus.
CCRI Players tackle themes of doubt and uncertainty with final production of fall semester
December 12, 2024
Beginning today, the CCRI Players launch a four-day run of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable, produced by CCRI Performing Arts Professor Luke Sutherland and scheduled for five performances at the college’s Providence Campus Auditorium. Showtimes are 7:30 pm Thursday through Saturday with 2 pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
Michael Marrapodi has joined CCRI as the new Executive Director of Online Learning. He has been involved with education since teaching music at a private school during his senior year of college in 1976 and is now an innovative leader in the online learning sector.
Second-year Biology student, PTK scholar helps feed the homeless one sandwich at a time
November 26, 2024
Eighteen-year-old Rhode Island Promise scholar and Warwick, RI, resident Lucas Johnson revived an old family tradition this past summer with Sandwich Party Sundays – a unique opportunity to spread joy and good cheer to Providence's homeless population each weekend at Kennedy Plaza.
A Providence, RI, native, and Community College of Rhode Island Class of 2011 alumna, Flavia A. Albert, M.A., is on the verge of releasing her first children's book next month to combine her passion for behavioral health and early childhood development with her love for storytelling.
Feb. 11, 2020
